


The Failed Attempts//Ivar the Boneless

by ApollyonsBlade



Category: Vikings (TV)
Genre: Drugs, F/M, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Other, Suggestive Themes, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2019-03-14 06:48:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 20
Words: 29,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13584567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ApollyonsBlade/pseuds/ApollyonsBlade
Summary: "Ivar the Boneless, Old Scandinavian Ivar inn beinlausi, Ivar also spelled Ivarr, Inguar, or Inwaer, (died 873, Dublin [Ireland]), Viking chieftain, of Danish origin, whose life story is suffused with legend" (Encyclopedia Britannica).After Ivar is sent into the future, he meets someone similar to him. After a few bumps in the road, they become friends. Months later and Ivar has found a way home. Will they come with or will Ivar have to leave them behind? Find out in The Failed Attempts.





	1. Attempt #1 - $100

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER:
> 
> This book contains mentions (and actions) of suicide, rape and verbal abuse. If you are triggered by any of these things I would advise that you don't continue to read this book.
> 
> COPYRIGHT:
> 
> I ONLY OWN MY OCS! AMADEUS, HAYDEN, ARIA, ETC.  
> I DON'T OWN VIKINGS OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS FROM VIKINGS.
> 
> THANKS:
> 
> Lastly, I'd like to thank everyone who has read this or is reading this book. It means a lot to me that people are reading and voting. I greatly appreciate your feedback!  
> Sincerely,  
> Heinous

**The United States, Illinois 2014 AD**   
**Date: April 23, 2014**

***WARNING: MENTIONS OF SUICIDE***  
Amadeus sat in front of the television which had been previously beaten in an attempt to "make the voices go away" as she had continually stated to herself, as she endeavored to find an excuse as to why she broke her old TV. The shattered pieces had been placed on the equally damaged table that sat only five feet in front of her. She slowly moved forward, her black tank top conforming around her back, showing off her malnourished body. A knock resounded from her door, lazily turning her head, she stared at the chipped, off-white door.  
"Deus," a soft voice could be heard from the other side, "Mom wants to talk to you."  
Silence filled the air, as Amadeus had no intention or even the smallest urge to get up and see her mother, let alone talk to her.  
"Amadeus," came the soft voice of her sister, again, "Please, mom really needs to talk to you, it's important," her sister practically pleaded her. Amadeus slowly got off her bed, her bones cracking loudly as she moved them for the first time in hours, maybe days, she wasn't really sure how long she had been sitting, laying, there. She slowly opened her creaky door, staring down at her short, dark-haired sister.  
Without a word, she moved past her, closing her bedroom door. She walked down the dark hallway, her mother's door firmly planted in the middle of the wall at the end of the hall, a small stream of light making its way from the tiny spaces between the door and wall. She gradually opened the squeaky door, stepping inside. Her mother was sitting in the old rocking chair, covered in blankets, that sat a few feet from her bed, in front of the dirty window.  
"Amadeus," her mothers raspy, sickening voice spoke into the silence, "Sit down." She pointed her bony finger at the chest sat against the wall, next to the same window she stared out of. Amadeus looked at her mother, passively, waiting for her to speak again. Her mother's tired eyes glanced at her sixteen-year-old daughter.  
"My time is coming, daughter, I know that you have been plotting my demise for some time. BUT!" her mother suddenly screamed, making Amadeus' eyes widen slightly, "I HAVE TAKEN THAT FROM YOU! JUST LIKE YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME! HAHAHAHA! I AM GOING TO HAVE MY REVENGE!"  
The older woman, keeled over, coughing loudly as she fell back in her seat, hard. Running footsteps could be heard, the door banging open, creating another dent in the beat up, dust lined wall.  
"Mother!" exclaimed the short, soft-spoken girl, she fell to her knees by her mother's side, "Do you need anything?! Do you want some water?! Please, mother, tell me!"  
The girl nervously stared at her frail mother, turning to look at her younger sister, "Amadeus, what did you do?" She rested her hand on her mother's arm and delicately rubbed her gaunt back.  
Amadeus simply shrugged, unaffected by her mothers failing health. Their mother laid her hand, firmly, on her daughter's.  
"Aria," she softly spoke, "Please get me some water, my beautiful child."  
Her older daughter got up quickly and ran out of the room to the kitchen, several doors down. Amadeus got up, ready to leave, not wanting to deal with the old hag anymore.  
"Amadeus," grumbled out the sickly female, "We are not done yet!"  
Amadeus stopped, a small grin forming on her face as she lazily threw her head back towards her mother, "No, mother, I think we are done." With that she rotated her head back towards the door, the grin instantly leaving her face, exiting the room.  
Aria hurried past her, closing the door, attending to her dying mother. Amadeus could hear her mother's soft murmurings to her most beloved child. She could hear Aria's caring voice tell the wrecked bitch that she was going to okay and that she wasn't going to die anytime soon. Aria couldn't bring herself to believe that her beloved mom was going to die.  
Amadeus scowled, angry that her ignorant sister was so kind to their odious mother. She sped to her room, slamming the door shut and locking it. She ran over to the dresser, pulling open a drawer and throwing some of the clothes out. She searched for a few minutes before finally finding the items she wanted. The burner phone rested in her hand, cold from its months of idleness, she grabbed its charger from her floor, plugging it in. She counted the money she had pulled out of the drawer, two $20, two $10, five $5, and nineteen $1. She gripped the $100's tightly, shoving it in her jeans pocket, she quickly grabbed her tan construction boots, tying them as she threw on her favorite jacket. She stuffed some other items into a bag that sat a few feet away from her, putting the strap over her shoulder. She looked at the phone to see it was fully charged, she yanked it from its charger, opening her window and quietly jumping out, pulling her hood up.

 

The street was wet from the previous few days of rain, she ran along it, soaking her boots and the bottoms of her pant legs from the puddles she continually ran through. As she made it to the end of the road, she took a sharp left and after several minutes she made it to the abandoned park, mostly inhabited by druggies and other such people. She pulled out the black burner phone, flipping it open and clicked on her contacts. The only number that occupied this phone still stared back at her. "Help Me" was the caller's name in her contacts. She dialed the number, without hesitation, putting the phone up to her ear.

After a few minutes of ringing, someone answers the phone.  
"Yeah?" the gruff voice asked, not very excited about being called so late at night, especially on his "party" night.  
"It's me," responded Amadeus, "Do you have time?"  
The other line was silent for a moment until a loud laugh could be heard.  
"Long time, no call. Of course, I have time to kick your ass," she could practically see the smile that resided on his face.  
"Meet me at the usual place," and with that she hung up the phone, going to sit on the creaky park bench that she had sat on so many times before in wait of her 'savior'. A half an hour of waiting passed until headlights could be seen in the distance and the familiar tune of some 80's boy band. Amadeus lazily looked toward the car, watching it park and hearing the maniacal laughter of her loony acquaintance. She waited in silence until she could hear his crunching footsteps.  
"Hello~" he smiled the same creepy, wide smile that she had grown to recognize as his. Her 'savior's, Bram.  
She looked at him, a small smile spreading across her lips as she stood up.  
"Hello, Bram," she greeted, moving towards his tall, muscular, figure. His smile stayed the same as he waited for her to say the words that he longed for. "How about we try hanging today?"  
With the flip of her bags top, she pulled out a thick noose, throwing it to him. He smiled even wider, if that was even possible and caught it, running over to a lovely oak tree. He climbed it at an incredibly fast pace. Tying the end of the rope to a stable branch, which he had chosen by jumping up and down on it, in a crazed manner, several times. Amadeus slowly climbed the tree after him, making her way to the same branch, taking off her bag. He slipped the noose around her neck, eagerly awaiting her jump. His fingers twitched with excitement as he pulled it tighter. She looked down at the ground after a long inhale and exhale she jumped.  
The branch sprung up and down at the sudden increase in weight, her face started to turn red, her eyes building up the pressure as she lost more and more oxygen. Five minutes into it, almost dead, the rope snapped and with a loud thud, Amadeus was sprawled out on the ground. She made no effort to try and loosen the noose, but once Bram had jumped out of the tree with her bag. He did her the courtesy of doing so, enjoying her multiple failed attempts way too much to let her die yet. She sat up, rubbing her neck and coughing. With a great deal of effort, she reached into her front pocket and pull out the role of cash. Bram snatched it from her hand, counting the money out with a smile before standing up.  
"See you around, sweetums," he chuckled at the pet name, "This was fun, let's do it again soon."  
With that he left Amadeus alone in the woods around the park to eventually get up and find her way back to her mother and sisters.


	2. Attempt #2 - The Völva

**Norway 816 AD**  

 

 The woman sat in her dark tent, she whispered soft chants to herself in a language even foreign to herself. Eir was her name, feared and blessed by all the Vikings and northern people. Even some of the people to the west, who had heard of her great power, feared her. They called her a demon, she must be a devil because she performed magic.  

  The woman threw a few leaves into a ceramic bowl, grounding them into a soft paste. She proceeded to put a tiny bit of water into the small container, mixing the ingredients into a nice texture. She took it in her hands, spreading the somewhat thick liquid unto her face as she had done so many times before. Unknown to her, not being born in the 21st Century, that the leaves had a hypnotic effect on them. She thought the gods were allowing her to see the almighty messages that they want her to tell their people. Though, I will not deny that sometimes, in her drugged state, they did give her messages to pass on. As the gods found her so very amusing, they favored her above many other priestesses. 

    The woman smiled to herself in her new state of "enlightenment". She stood up from her wooden stool, making her way to the flap of her tent, flipping it open in one swift movement. She stepped out into the forest, only to be met by none other than her queen, the queen of Kattegat, Aslaug. She stood a few strides in front of her, looking as if she was ready to go back at any moment.  

"Aslaug," smirked the drugged witch, "what can I do for you?" 

Aslaug looked at her cautiously for a moment before proceeding to walk forward into the others tent. Eir followed after her, purely delighted that such a proud figure as Aslaug had lowered their self to ask her for help. 

Aslaug took a graceful seat on one of the makeshift benches, to be blunt, a log, and looked towards Eir. She was clearly unhappy about asking the adored priestess for her help, but she was at her wit's end. 

"Eir," she started, as Eir took a seat in front of her, "I need you to tell me. Is my son dead? Is Ivar dead?" 

 The woman was clearly distraught but had long since run out of tears to shed. She only wished to know if her most beloved son was truly dead. Eir was silent for a moment, debating on whether or not it was her place to tell of such things. The gods would be unhappy, she knew that for sure, but the one small sliver of humanity, of motherly yearning, she decided she would tell. Even if this foolish idea cost her her powers and possibly her life. 

Eir took a small breath, "No," she spoke clearly. Aslaug looked up at her, surprise and shock being clearer than any other emotion on her face. 

"W-What?" she gasped, not being able to believe that her vision wasn't true. Aslaug, the proud creature that she was, couldn't bear to think that her vision was wrong. She stood up, startling Eir as she screamed at her, "YOU LIE!! MY VISION IS NOT WRONG! MY VISION'S ARE NEVER WRONG!"

At this point, Eir was pretty sure that Aslaug had lost it. Eir shot up from her seat, backing away from the crazed woman, the drugs side effects losing a hold on her. Her survival instincts kicked in, she wanted this woman out of her home. She wanted her out now.

"Get out," she spoke calmly, quieting the once screaming queen, but the woman didn't move to leave. It was almost as if she hadn't heard say those words. "Get. Out." Eir said again through gritted teeth. She was losing patience, she was going to snap this woman's neck if she didn't get out of her home. Queen or not, Eir didn't care, she was going to kill her and use her dead body as an offering to the almighty gods. 

Aslaug made no attempt to leave the tent, she only stared at the witch in shock. Eir reached behind her wielding her long wooden wand. 

"GET OUT!" she screeched, scaring the ruler. Aslaug fell back on her butt, staring at Eir in shock.

"How dare you," spoke Aslaug, "HOW. DARE. YOU. HOW DARE YOU!!" she shrieked, clearly having lost her mind as she lunged at the skilled shield maiden. 

Eir pushed her aside as if she was but a simple gust of air. Aslaug fell to the ground, finally gaining some of her sanity, in attempt to stay alive, she turned, fleeing to the door. As soon as she was gone, Eir looked out of the tent, gathering a basket and headed out the door. Sure, she knew Ivar was alive and in some respect knew it wasn't his fault that his mother was a crazed lunatic, but she knew that she had to punish Aslaug. She was going to do that and there was no stopping her. It didn't matter if Aslaug was eventually going to be killed, she was going to make Aslaug pay right here and now.  

 As she ran around the forest, in a crazed frenzy, gathering all the ingredients she needed to make the elixir that would allow her to do what she needed to do. She stopped in front of a tree looking out into the distance, a brief glimpse of the future laid before her eyes. Lagertha was coming and now was the time of Aslaug's defeat. It had come so quickly. 

 Eir gained a smile on her painted face, skipping back to her home and set down her items. She cheerfully made her way to the soon to be raided Kattegat, to watch from a distance until Lagertha's inevitable rise to power. 

 A short battle later and Lagertha stood in control of Kattegat once again. Eir made her way down to the crowd which had enough respect to let her through so that she could clearly see both Lagertha and Aslaug as they talked. Eir didn't care to pay attention to their meaningless conversation. She waited to the moment she had been dreaming of and soon it came. As Aslaug fell to the ground, Eir caught her just in time, a sick smile covering her face. 

"I will make you pay, Aslaug," she whispered to her, "I will make your precious Ivar pay."

With that she let her drop to the ground, walking back to her humble abode, but not before she could her the cries of triumph that filled the great city. 


	3. Attempt #3 - Cursed Children

**Norway 816 AD**  

 

  Weeks had passed since Aslaug's death and Ivar had yet to return. Eir knew that she was not wrong when she had said that he still lived, but this was far longer than she expected it would take for him to return. She knew that Ragnar had long since died and she was starting to get aggravated that Ivar was ruining her perfectly good revenge plot against his mother. The more aggravated she becomes, the more people she wanted revenge against. She wanted all the Ragnar children to pay, even Bjorn, who wasn't even Aslaug's son. She wanted Harald and Halfdan to pay for being too touchy and she was very close to cursing Lagertha as well. This little brat, who barely just came out of his diapers was making her more agitated then anyone ever had. She wanted vengeance and he was slowly taking it from her. 

  Finally, after weeks of waiting, the day had arrived, as she walked to town she could hear the villagers talk of the return of Ivar the Boneless. She smiled, making her way through town, innocently, as she grabbed some slimy fish and warm bread for dinner. She happily skipped back home, acting more like a young child, instead of a twenty-five-year-old woman. 

  Once she returned home, she planned everything she was going to do. She grabbed the elixir that she had made so many weeks before and grabbed her favorite red-ish paste, slathering it on her face. She grabbed her wand-staff and began to make it to the ground deemed sacred by the gods. 

 She took the elixir, which looked incredibly similar to blood, and spread it on the leafy ground. Before long, a ritual circle laid before her. She began to softly chant, dancing around the circle to make her curse all the stronger. Once she was done with the arrangements for her revenge, she went home to think of a way to lure the Ragnarsson's and even their close acquaintances with them. 

 

 

  She laughed cruelly as the perfect idea came to her. 

"Oh, poor, poor Ragnar," she chuckled, "how angry he will be in Valhalla." 

-Days Later-

   As she set her plan in place, carefully thinking of what words to say, she gathered her wand and cloak. She headed down to Kattegat, in hopes of seeing all the people she needed together.  As luck would have it, a celebration was being held with all of the new recruits for the Great Heathen Army. She walked along the empty streets, eventually making it to the large meeting hall. Every step closer gave her more and more strength to continue on with her plan. 

  She made her way up the wooden steps, a smile on her wickedly pale face. She flung the hall doors open with a surge of great power. The Vikings inside jumped back, scared from the large noise and the fact that a clearly angry witch was standing less than a 100 feet from them. 

"Eir," spoke Lagertha, "What has brought you here?" 

Eir looked at the queen, annoyed by her presence. 

"For you," Eir's smile widened, "For all of you."

  She looked towards the sons of Ragnar, Harald, and Halfdan. Her face darkened once her eyes met Ivar's.

"You," she pointed to Ivar, "You will pay for your mother's crimes against the gods."

Ivar looked at her in anger, ready to kill her at any moment. His brothers, well mostly Ubbe, were willing to fight for him. Eir laughed at the futile attempts they were making to protect themselves and their brother.

"Do you really think that your mortal weapons can stop a divine messenger of the gods?! I WILL CRUSH YOU!!" Eir slammed the end of her staff on the ground. She chanted the same words she had in the forest. In the forest, the circle of blood began to shine. If her victims weren't going to go to the holy ground then she was going to have to get them there another way. 

   With the flick of her wrist, her hostages and several of their attempted heroes were transported into an entirely new world. Bjorn, Lagertha, Hvitserk, Sigurd, Ubbe, Harlad, Halfdan, and especially Ivar. Oh, how happy she was that now all of them were gone. She was so happy that all the people who had treated her poorly were going to pay.

She smiled wickedly, all of her hiking companions stepped away from her scared as she made her way to the thrones. She took a seat, grinning, several of the Vikings, just wanting to be spared from her wrath bowed. 

 "I AM YOUR NEW LEADER, I AM EIR, DAUGHTER OF ARVID AND GULL! I AM QUEEN EIR AND YOU WILL OBEY ME!!"

    As the Seer has said, he has seen it so ... but does not say who the woman is. He has seen a female ruler over Kattegat, not Aslaug, not Lagertha, but Eir, the divine Völva.


	4. Attempt #4 - 2017?!

**The United States, Illinois 2017 AD**   
**Date: July 14, 2017**

A dark hole seemed to open up and swallow them whole. The group didn't know what was happening, but they were more than sure that it was nothing good. After what seemed like years light could be seen at the end of the dark wormhole. With a loud thud, the lot of them landed on the ground of a dark, smelly alleyway. The wormhole had taken a lot of their energy so within minutes most of them had passed out, only Ivar was partially awake. He was trying to fight of the overwhelming urge to sleep. He stared through half-closed eyelids at the figure who had ran towards them.  
"Oh my god, are you okay?!" the figured asked worried, "Hey, stay with me, hey! He-"  
That was the last thing he heard before he too let the urge overcome him.

  
 **\-----Days Later-----**  
Ivar awoke to the sound of a loud, annoying beeping, he didn't know what it was, but he knew he was going to kill it if it didn't shut up soon. He slowly opened his eyes, a bright light burning them instantly. He closed them, cautiously opening them again, testing the waters so that his eyes wouldn't be in so much pain.  
"I'm glad you're feeling better," a sickly sweet, girlish voice spoke to none other than his brother, Ubbe. He looked over to see a short girl, with brown, pink hair smiling at his brother. She was dressed in a blue nurses uniform, not that Ivar knew what that was.

 

The girl looked over at him, her smile widening, if that was possible, "You're awake, I'm glad!"  
Ivar watched her closely, not sure if she was to be trusted. She moved toward his bed, feeling his forehead with her small, pale hand. He tried to inch away, but she was quick to not let him, shooting him a smile.  
"You're temperature seems to be normal now, before you know it you'll be out of this bed."  
He glared at her, annoyed by her sweet attitude, but she didn't seem to care.  
His brothers happily talked to her as she moved to tend to them. She had certainly caught his brothers attentions and he knew that they had every intention to bed her. As his brothers were distracted by this fanciful girl, Ivar looked around at his new environment, the bright white walls, small beds surrounded by metal poles, the curtains that were meant to separate each bed. He noticed the open window to the right of him, cool air blowing in every so often, bringing with it the sweet smell of spring. Ivar looked down to see that his usual clothes had been exchanged to a thin white gown type thing. With an angry glare he looked towards the girl, only to notice that the rest of his brothers wore the same thing.  
Where was he? What was this strange world? Where were his brethren, where were the Vikings? He heard no screams of terror from a raid or any attempt to save him and his brothers, the sons of Ragnar, their King.  
As he thought of all the possibilities of where he could be and what could have happened, he failed to notice the new presence that entered the room. The doctor stood tall, at least 6' 4", the white lab coat contorted around his large biceps as he moved his arms to flip to the next page on his newly obtained clipboard. He looked up at the confused Ubbe, moving to put Ubbe's charts back on the front of his bed.  
"It seems you're doing well, you can be discharged in the next couple days. I'd say probably Friday or so," the brown-haired doctor spoke, a broad smile laid on his handsome face. Ubbe continued to stare at him, confused by what and who this man was. Seeing as Ubbe had only woken up several hours before Ivar, he had not seen, nor talked to, this man.  
"Who are you?" spoke Ubbe.  
"Oh, excuse my lack of manners," smiled the doctor, "I'm Doctor Sekoni."  
"Doctor?" questioned Hvitserk, who had overheard the conversation, as he sat on the bed next to his brother, eating.  
Doctor Sekoni looked at them funny, clearly not understanding how they couldn't know what a doctor was.  
"Well, to put it plainly, a doctor is a "healer", they use medicine and such things to heal others."  
The brothers nodded, seeming to understand what the doctor had said. The doctor moved to Hvitserks bed, grabbing his charts and reading them, repeating about the same thing he had said to Ubbe. He moved on from each bed until he finally made it to the last one, Ivar's. He read over his charts before looking at the boy. He looked at him before slowly speaking words that may change this boys life forever.  
"Do you want to walk?" he asked, looking at the boy seriously. Ivar looked him over, wondering if this man was joking with him. Could he really walk one day? Was this man not joking? Ivar slowly nodded, his glare scrutinizing the doctor.  
The doctor nodded, still looking serious, "It will take some time so you will have to be patient. You'll need to come in every week for physical therapy. We can start whenever you are healthy enough."  
Ivar looked at the doctor like he had seen Odin himself. He might be able to walk, a sort of happiness bubbled inside of him but was soon crushed. He couldn't get his hopes up if he did he'd probably be sorely disappointed later.  
With that the doctor left the brothers to get some rest. Ubbe looked happy for Ivar, he smiled at his little brother before pulling the white hospital sheet up and getting comfortable. Ivar continued to stare at the ceiling until he finally also drifted off to sleep. Only one thought on his mind, I might be able to walk.


	5. Attempt #5 - Best Friends

**United States, Illinois 2017 AD**

**Date: July 21, 2017**

 

   Amadeus stared at the mildewed ceiling in a dazed. The last dose of the melted white powder, currently running through her veins, had taken a toll on most of her cognitive functions. A giggle bubbled up from somewhere in her emaciated body, a broad grin forming its way on her tanned face. Above her a man squatted down, his face blocking her view of the ceiling. 

"Having fun, pumpkin?" he laughed his sick laugh, smiling broadly as she rolled her eyes at the nickname.

"Yes, _Baby Cakes,_ " she smirked as he giggled.

"It's so sexy when you call me that," he smiled, her eyes widening as he moved closer to her. Only inches away from his lips touching hers, he stopped, a large smirk taking over his features. A chortle leaving him as he pretty much spit in her face. He fell back on the floor, rolling around, howling in laughter. She rolled her eyes, as she rolled away from him.

"Not funny, you sick bastard," she grumbled, searching for a new needle to have another dose of her liquid sin. He continued to chuckle, rolling around like a baby. Eventually he got sick of his small fit and sat up, grabbing a nearby packet of line and a rolled up $100 bill. He shorted the coke out on the floor with his license before snorting it through one of his nostrils. Oh, how he loved that drug, one of his newer obsessions, at first it was Mary Jane, but then Molly just wasn't enough. But Cocaine, oh cocaine, how it had made him feel a whole new high and he loved that high. He loved it more than anything in this god forsaken world. 

  As he snorted his beloved dust, Amadeus shot up another bit of Beast. She fell back on the floor, looking back at the, apparently, interesting ceiling. They both sat in silence, enjoying the effects of their adored drugs. Until the man's laughter ruined their newly obtained silence. He giggled at god knows what, staring out in front of him, in a daze. 

^_^

Back at the hospital sat the five brothers and their three companions. Harald and Halfdan had long since gotten over the fact that they had been transported to another world by some witch. They were enjoying watching the slutty dressed woman that they saw pass by their hospital window. They couldn't wait to finally be out of this damn hospital and be able to have some real fun. 

The brothers, on the other hand, were still trying to comprehend the fact that they were in a different world. After the nurse, Aria, had explained that they were found in an alleyway and brought to this hospital. She told them that it was 2017, thousands of years after their generation. They were confused, scared, and angry at Eir, how and why did she do this to them? 

  Lagertha had mostly spent her time talking to Aria, trying to make an ally if something were to happen. She had learned all about this world and all of its latest "fashion" as Aria had called it. She had brought Lagertha magazines full of skinny models dressed in beautiful clothing and told Lagertha to pick out whatever she wanted. Aria, when she found out that none of them had a place to stay after they'd be discharged from the hospital, offered to let them stay with her and her sisters. She, being the innocently nice person she was, didn't think about any of the consequences of that. But, she couldn't back out now, today was the day they were being discharged. She had asked to get off early so she could get them settled in and introduce her sisters. 

Aria was a little worried that her sisters and her new found friends weren't going to get along. Secretly, she knew that the only person she had to worry about causing trouble was Amadeus. Though she was barely around since she moved into that apartment with her friend. 

T_T

  Several hours later, papers were being filled out for the release of all the foreigners. Aria, who had just gotten off of work, gave them each a set of clothes she had bought for them. She directed them to the bathroom one at a time and wait for each one to finish, sometimes having to assist in buttoning their pants or tying their shoes the correct way. For the most part all of the clothes fit and they look very good in them. They didn't stand out as much anymore. 

  After everyone was dressed, Aria lead them all out to her car, a GMC Savana. When they saw all the cars, they kind of freaked out, especially when they saw one move, but Aria quickly calmed them down. She got them all piled in the car and explained how to buckle your seat belt and then went on to generally explain what a car was and how it worked. Ivar became more intrigued while the others just tried to except that these machines could move. 

 

She eventually started the car, with minimal freak outs, and headed towards her home. One the way she talked about her two older sisters who lived with her. 

"Only two sisters? Did you father not want sons? An heir to take over after he dies?" asked Ubbe, confused as to way her father had not tried to have a son. 

"Well, my father probably wasn't much like yours," she spoke softly, thinking about what to say, in order to not piss them off. "My father's first thought was never, "I want a son". I think he was more focused on how he could control my mother and her children." 

It was quiet for a while after that until she pulled into her driveway, parking the car and getting out to help them figure out how to unbuckle their seat belts. Then she helped Ivar out of the car, who was being forced to use a wheelchair until the doctor would allow him to use crutches. Ivar was very angry about that, but came to terms with it after the doctor said he'd be able to use crutches not after to long. 

The door was opened for them by a tall female with pale blue hair, she smiled warmly at them and invited them in. She guided them all to the couches that sat in the middle of her living room and asked if they wanted something to drink. 

"Ale," was the immediate answer from all of the boys. Aria and her sisters, not having "ale" asked if they wanted a beer instead. They happily agreed and once they were all seated on the couch with their drinks, they silently looked around. A few moments of silence passed until the oldest sister decided it'd probably be a good idea to introduce themselves.

"I'm sorry that it took me so long to introduce myself, but I'm Hayden," spoke the female who had opened the door for them.

"I'm Lakota," spoke the second oldest sister, her purple hair making her stand out from the rest of them.

"I believe you already know me, but to clarify, I'm Aria," Aria spoke her cute, girlish voice. 

They newcomers nodded to themselves and then went down the line introducing themselves. 

"I'm Bjorn," spoke the large blonde haired man.

"Ubbe."

"Hvitserk."

"Sigurd." 

"Harald."

"Halfdan."

"Lagertha."

They all turned to look at Ivar who was glaring at their hosts, not sure if he should really give them his name.

He growled lowly and ground out, "Ivar."

-_-

Back at Amadeus's apartment, the day had just begun. Her druggie friend, Bram, had long since left to continue to convince people of his normal lifestyle at his job. While, her roommate, Avon, had just gotten back from her nightly rendezvous with her lover. Amadeus had just finished getting dressed from her afternoon shower and was getting ready to go to work. Avon sat on the couch in her skimpy dress that she had worn for the date with her beloved. She was wiping off her makeup with a makeup wipe and was getting ready to take all the jewelry off she had worn. 

"Amadeus," she spoke, smiling happily at her best friend, "You won't believe what happened on our date last night!" 

Amadeus smiled a small smile, something big for her as she was very much a stoic person. She took a seat next to her friend, waiting for her to continue her story. 

"Well, he took me to this really fancy place last night, it was so beautiful. All these prestigious rich people were there. They kept glaring at me all through the night, by the end I was so fed up with them. I was about to throw my plate at them, but then Lander got up and kindly asked them to stop staring at his girlfriend. HE CALLED ME HIS GIRLFRIEND! HIS GIRLFRIEND! CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?!" squealed Avon as she thought back over her date, with a fond smile.

Amadeus nodded, "I have seen the look in his eyes whenever he's with you. To anyone else it wouldn't look like anything, but if you look close enough you can see it. I'm glad he's finally shone his feelings for you. I'm happy for you," Amadeus spoke, genuinely happy for her friend.

Avon squealed hugging her, "I'm so happy you're my best friend and not some rude bitch."

Amadeus snickered, "I'm glad you're my best friend too." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Line and Coke - Cocaine  
> Beast - Heroin and LSD


	6. Attempt #6 - Fateful Blow

**United States, Illinois 2017 AD**

**Date: September 14, 2017**

 

  It had been almost two months since the Vikings had come to live with the three sisters. They had yet to say anything about their mysterious youngest sister and hoped that she'd never show up again. They hoped she'd keep her distance and not ruin yet another one of their growing friendships. They were unaware that, in fact, it was their treatment of her that lead to the multitude of ended friendships. Unfortunately, the day was not in their favor.

**8:25 am**

  The three sisters sat in the living room with their friends, explaining each of their jobs. Hayden had explained what an artist was, Lakota explained what a hairdresser was, and Aria, a nurse. Their company seemed to mostly understand, though they didn't understand the importance of Hayden and Lakota's jobs. They all enjoyed breakfast together and two of the three sisters left for work. Hayden, being an artist, worked from home and so was designated as the guest's babysitter. She spent most of her morning showing them how to do certain things, such as use the TV and the shower, etc.

**1:05 pm**

 By the late afternoon, she was annoyed with them and had locked herself in her room. In order to do some work, as was her excuse to them. The guests were content with eating all of their host's food and lounging around on their couch. Though, the consistent urge to want to raid was apparent. Unfortunately, they had been told by their caretakers, "Raiding is a big no-no. People don't do that nowadays. You can't kill people whenever you feel like it! Stop thinking like that right now!"

 So they spent a majority of their time on the Alarcón sisters couch and watched the magic box. Harald and Halfdan, on multiple occasions, would "sneak" out and go find some girl to sleep with. Surprisingly, their gruff looks and personalities were well liked among the prostitutes and "bad girls". 

"This is boring," Sigurd decided to speak up, agitated that he was being forced to stay in their hosts living room all day. 

"Yeah," agreed Ubbe and Hvitserk, wanting to also do something besides sit here. They got up, heading towards Hayden's room. In hope that she would know of something to do. 

"Are we going to let her and her  _sisters_  control us?" spit out Ivar, angry. The brothers looked at each other, knowing their youngest brother was right. They shouldn't let this stranger control everything they do. They turned away from the door, looking towards Ivar.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" they questioned, slightly reluctant to take his advice. 

"We need to leave this "house", we've stayed here for long. We need to find our own way around this place. We can't just sit here foolishly and let any enemy, who may come, attack us without fortifications," Ivar spoke, intelligently, obviously having thought over this for some time. 

**3:10 pm**

  The brothers and their companions had left the house in search of materials to build fortifications and weapons. Even if they knew that the world was much different from their time, they still couldn't let go of their upbringing. Their past, full of raids, battles, and defense against the enemy. 

When Hayden eventually emerged from her room, she freaked out, calling Aria in a crazed manner. Aria, then started to freak out and called Lakota, who is the most sensible of the bunch, told them to calm down and that she would figure out where they were. A few weeks earlier, she had given several of them cell phones. They were "afraid" of them at first, but eventually got used to the small, rectangular boxes. With there phones, she made sure to install a GPS tracker, just in case they decided to wander off. She thought that it would be easier to find them if they got lost. 

She quickly opened her app, tracking down each of their phones. They were down by the city hall on Bond Avenue. She sighed, of course, they'd head straight in the direction of where a majority of people gathered. She asked for an early break and five minutes later she was parked outside the city hall, looking directly at the culprits themselves. She jumped out of the car, heading over to the perturbed looking Ivar and co. 

"Hello, boys, and girl, I can see you've found your way out of the house today," she began, quirking an eyebrow as she looked at the group. 

"We wanted to become acquainted with this new world," spoke Ubbe, clearly more willing to communicate with the sister. 

"Really now?" she looked the group over before letting out a sigh. "Okay, here's the deal, I couldn't care less if you go out and explore or buy things. Next time, at least give me a heads up and I'll give you some money. Hayden and Aria were freaking out when they realized you were gone."

The group looked at themselves, everyone nodding, besides Ivar. 

"Alright, well all I have on me is a $20," she spoke, digging it out of her pocket and handing it to Bjorn, who had stepped forward to take it. "Make sure you're home by dinner time and no killing!" 

She waved goodbye as she hopped back in her car, driving away. Ivar growled in annoyance as he watched his brothers wave back. Why couldn't they see the treachery that would come, at least the treachery Ivar thought would come. After she was out of sight, they continued on in their journey to find the tools they needed.

**6:23 pm**

 They had found most everything that seemed useful at the moment, so they decided to head back. They all remembered what Lakota had told them hours ago. As they headed back, they passed they many graffiti-ed walls and busted windows. The prostitutes that started to make their rounds, the ambulances that passed by every few minutes with their loud sirens. This world was so much different from theirs. Far more advanced, but yet not as well adapted. The evil was practically seeping through the core of this town. Every way you turned there was a new form of corruption, each a new form of the other. 

The people in this town had no regard for one another, each had their own tale of woe. Each had their own abominable secrets that they hid deep within. Even an outsider, ones from another world, for instance, could sense the coming destruction of this small town. The Vikings knew that they would need to leave this world soon and make it back to their world. Then, maybe, they wouldn't also be pulled down into the dark abyss that had overtaken this town. They would be spared from its devilry. 

 About thirty minutes later and they had miraculously made it back to the sisters home. At the door, they were greeted by a worrisome Aria and Hayden. Ubbe shot them a warm smile, apologizing for leaving without notifying them. Ivar rolled his eyes, annoyed by his brother's willingness to bow to these feeble humans. He sat in his wheelchair, grumbling to himself about the whole thing while the others ignored him. They knew that if they wanted to stay in this house longer than they'd have to keep his horrible temper a secret for as long as possible. 

**11:59 pm**

Amadeus sat in her living room, waiting for her best friend, Avon, to finally make it back home from another date. Her lover, Lander, was a businessman, in fact, he was the boss of a company. The company was one his father had crashed into the ground and one that Lander had risen to power once again. His grandfather had taught him well, the ways of the businessman. Lander had met Avon at one of his business lunches, she was a tired waitress who's the last table happened to be his. She had kindly and efficiently served them, she had so so well that it had caught Lander's attention. Her beauty just happened to be a plus to her wonderful personality. Subsequently, he began to regularly have lunch at her restaurant, always asking for her to serve his table. It didn't take long before it became a regular occurrence. On her first day off since this ordeal started, he refused to eat there and asked one of her coworkers for her name. 

 **Avon**   **Zuidema** , with little to no effort, he had tracked down her address and soon stood in front of her door. Unfortunately, the one to open the door was Amadeus, who stared at him with a solemn face. He stared right back at her, he knew that the address wasn't wrong, but he hadn't looked into the possibilities of roommates. Avon, having noticed Amadeus's continued disappearance, headed to the door. She seemed taken aback by the fact that the man, who she had previously been gushing to her friend about, was stood on her very doorstep. In the end, he asked her on a date which she agreed to. Now they've been dating for a little over a year.

Amadeus was ripped from her thoughts at the sound of the front door being slammed shut. She stood up from her seat on the couch and started to walk to the front door. She met with a smiling Avon.

"Amadeus," she smiled, "Let's go out, I've been craving a burger all night!"

Amadeus nodded, grabbing her coat and shoving on her shoes. Avon ran to her room to change out of her dress and heels. She threw on some skinny jeans, a plain t-shirt, and some converse. She smiled at Amadeus as she made her way back to the door and grabbed her keys. They left the apartment, locking the door and began heading down to the nearest fast food place, which happened to be an extremely run down McDonald's. They both ordered burgers and a drink, going to sit in a booth near the back of the store. They sat in silence for a while before Amadeus decided to speak up. 

"How was your date?" she asked quietly, being a woman of few words, it was odd for her to start the conversation. Avon looked up from her food, a wider smile overtaking her face because of her friend's words. 

"It was the best date we've had by far!" spoke Avon with gesticulation, "We went to the fair in town and rode all of the rides at least twice! We went to dinner at a small diner and then we went back to his place and watched movies until we both fell asleep. When I woke up, he drove me home and kissed me goodnight." She spoke dreamily. 

"Deus, you don't even understand how wonderful that kiss was. His lips were so soft and he kissed me very softly. It was unparalleled to any kiss I've ever had."

Deus smiled softly at her friend, happy for her. They finished their food soon after and headed back to the apartment. Avon headed to bed while Amadeus stayed up, having to be to work in a little over an hour. 

Amadeus worked as a bartender in a local bar,  _The Wooden Dahlia_. She usually worked in the early hours of the morning. As was the case today, her shift would end at 8 am the next day. 

**Date: September 15, 2017**

**7:45 am**

Amadeus's shift was almost over, the night had been pretty uneventful. There were a few crazy drunks, but overall they weren't too bad. As Amadeus was getting ready to end her shift on a peaceful note, a group of five men walked in. Each scarier than the last, all looking ready to beat the shit out of anyone that got in their way. 

They took a seat a few feet from where Amadeus stood behind the bar. She looked up from the glasses she was cleaning and moved over in front of the quintet. 

"What can I get for you?" she asked softly, ready to take their drink orders. The men smirked towards one another before, who seemed to be the leader of the group, leaned forward.

"You can get me a beer, sweet cheeks," the man in his twenties spoke with a wide smirk. 

"Same for me," spoke the guy to his right, his bright orange hair standing out amongst the rest of them. 

"Gin and Juice," spoke the man to the leader left, shooting her a heartbreaker smile. 

"Bloody Bull," spoke the man next to him.

"Jack and coke," spoke the last man, sat next to the orange haired man. 

She nodded at them, having written all their orders down and started on their drinks. She grabbed two beer, popping off the cap and putting them each down with a small napkin underneath each. She got out the gin, a grapefruit, and orange juice, mixing it. She places the Gin and Juice in front of the next customer. He nodded in thanks, taking a sip. She put the gin and orange juice away, throwing the rest of the grapefruit in a small plastic bag. She grabbed vodka, beef bouillon, lemon, Tabasco sauce and Worcestershire sauce and mixed them. Once the bloody bull was finished she set in front of her second to the last customer. Finally, she grabbed Jack Daniels and Coke to make her last drink, she quickly poured the two into the glass and set it in front of her last customer with an extremely forced smile. 

**8:05 am**

Amadeus's shift just ended and she had started to head back to the apartment in hopes of seeing Avon before she left for work. Unfortunately for her, she wasn't going to make it home in time to see Avon, fate was going to deal her a blow. One which she was not ready for. 


	7. Attempt #7 - Unforgivable Atrocities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'm sorry if anyone is caused distress by any of the events that happened in this chapter. Rape is a disgraceful act that should never be committed. But, unfortunately, the world is a wicked place filled with depraved human beings and things like this happen daily.

**United States, Illinois 2017 AD**

**Date: September 15, 2017**

 

***WARNING: ABUSE AND MENTIONS OF RAPE***

I wouldn't say that Amadeus was a particularly strong or weak person. She wasn't some woman who had superhero strength and could fend off any attacker, but she also wasn't like a weak newborn fawn. She was average. 

She had spent most of her teenage life trying to end her life and hadn't spent much time thinking about taking self-defense classes or anything related to defense. She hadn't thought that she would make it past eighteen. After all, as she had been informed by her mother more than once, she was a mistake and mistakes never made it very far in life. She believed wholeheartedly that her mother was right. 

So, now, years down the line, she silently regretted believing her wretched mother's words. She had something to live for now, but it seemed like that was soon to be taken from her. She wished that she had paid more attention to her surroundings. She wished she hadn't forgotten her pocket knife at home, the first time in over a year. She wished she had asked Avon to pick her up from work like she had offered minutes before Amadeus departed the building. As she stood before the quintet of men, she regretted every serving them their drinks. 

They smiled at her viciously, their intents clearly written on their faces. She took a step back only to run into the chest of one of the five. She stared back at him, moving away, but not quick enough. He grabbed her upper arm in a tight grip, yanking her back towards him. She tried to push away from him, beating her one available arm on his muscled chest. He simply laughed at her weak attempt for survival. 

Before she knew it, she had been dragged into an alleyway and thrown to the ground. The five men stood above her, laughing at her horrified face. With each misuse, their voices started to blend together, their faces become nothing, but black circles with eyes and mouths. They laughed at her as they ripped off her pants, laughed as she cried and screamed for help and they laughed as they silenced her with a stab to the chest as they left. They snickered all the way out of the alleyway as they left her in a pool of her own blood. 

She laid there for hours, waiting for death, but it seemed to never come. Eventually, after almost three hours, she pulled herself up, grabbing her pants and underwear that had been thrown a few feet away. With an incredible amount of effort, she slid them back on her bruised legs. She grabbed onto the dumpster next to her, heaving herself up. She knew, in the back of her mind, that she should go to the hospital, that she should file a police report. But, after everything that had just happened, she wasn't thinking straight. She started to head back to the apartment, she didn't want to see anyone, she could still feel their hands touching. She could still smell their foul smelling breath. She wanted to be clean, she felt so dirty, so used. 

On her way back to the apartment, she passed by Avon's work and as if God was against her, there Lander, Avon's boyfriend, stood. He was staring out at the street, stood in front of the shop, in a black suit and tie. Once he saw her, against his nature entirely, he called out to her.

"Amadeus," he spoke just loud enough, loud enough for her to hear at least. She turned her head, showing off her nasty facial wounds. His eyes widened slightly at the sight of them. Before both of them knew it, he was across the street, standing in front of her. He stared down at her, inquisitively. 

"It's nothing," spoke Amadeus, in a low voice, as she looked at the ground in shame. He grabbed her forearm, pulling her across the street and into Avon's work. He pulled her all the way to the back where Avon stood, talking to her boss about the new work schedule. Once she saw Amadeus though, she stopped, almost sprinting over to her.

"Oh my god, Amadeus, what happened?!" she practically yelled at the helpless girl in front of her. "We need to go to the hospital. Oh my god. Lander, call an ambulance, please!" 

Lander nodded, taking out his phone and dialing 911 as Avon coaxed what happened out of Amadeus. She then noticed the lightly bleeding stab wound and Amadeus's increasingly pale skin, seeming to freak out even more over that. Following her long spree of worry, Avon eventually found out the severity of the situation. She knew the truth and the truth was not pretty. Her best friend of over four years had been beaten, stabbed and  _raped_. She didn't know what to say, she didn't know how to consul her clearly distressed friend. All she could do was stand and stare at her mistreated friend. 

Amadeus, already distraught from everything that happened, couldn't comprehend that her friend was just in shock. All she could think was that her friend was ashamed of her. That the only friend she had ever had hated her now and she couldn't take. She had been through so much in only a few short hours and without a second thought she broke down. Amadeus, for the first time in her life, broke down and wept in front of people. She fell to her knees, covering her mouth with her hand as she sobbed into it. 

"I'm sorry," she cried, "I'm so sorry. It's all my fault."

During this time, Avon had finally snapped out of her shock and shot down next to her friend, pulling her into a side hug. She hugged her, as she sobbed until the ambulance came. Avon told them what her friend couldn't. She told the police and the police ordered a rape kit as soon as they arrived at the hospital after the stab wound was treated, of course. The stab wound was relatively easy to treat, the hadn't nicked any vital organs or cause any internal bleeding. A few stitches were required. After that, the rape kit was used. The police took the evidence and following a few questions left her in peace. 

Avon had called Amadeus's sisters while she sat in the waiting room, waiting for any news on her friend. Her sisters had yet to arrive, but Avon hoped that they'd come soon. 

([-]_[-]) (TT_TT)

The three sisters had all taken the day off to show their new friends around town. They hoped that by doing this the group wouldn't get lost when they decided to venture out of the house. They also taught them how to use money and how to read how much something cost and determine if they had enough money. They had run into problems with that yesterday, clearing not understanding how to use money at all. 

While on their walk around town, Aria's phone was going off non-stop. She tried to ignore it, at first, not really wanting to go to work today, as she assumed it was them calling. But, after Hayden and then Lakota's phone started to go off, she knew something wasn't right. Hayden refused to answer the call of any unknown number and so wouldn't answer the phone, but Lakota was different. She had had a gut feeling all morning that something was wrong. She just didn't know what it was. Everyone around her seemed to be fine. She looked at the unknown number for a second, before answering the call, surprising all her companions. 

"Hello?" she questioned the other caller. 

"Is...Is this Lakota Alarcón?" came a soft, female voice from the other line.

"Yes, and who am I speaking to?" she questioned back.

"My...My name is Avon, I'm friends with your sister...Amadeus. She gave me your number and told me to call you if anything bad happens," the girl spoke softly, starting to get choked up at the end, "Something happened. A-Amadeus is in the hospital. Please come and bring your sisters with you. It's St. Mary's."

With that Avon hung up, unable to continue talking without bursting into tears. Lakota turned to the rest of the group.

"T-the hospital," she spoke, almost dumbstruck, "W-we need to go to the hospital. We need to go to the hospital now! Back to the car! Hurry!" Her voice gaining strength into the third sentence. The group sprinted off towards Aria's car, Lakota jumping into the driver's seat and starting the car, not even waiting for everyone to be fully in the car before forcefully backing out of their parking spot. She speeds down the street, driving way over the speed limit, making it to the hospital in record time. 

Without telling her sisters anything, she ran into the hospital at full speed. Her sisters, after helping with getting Ivar's wheelchair set up and him in it, hurried into the hospital. When they entered the building, they saw Lakota standing in from of a crying female, who only looked to eighteen or nineteen years old. The young girl's face was blocked by her long blonde hair, but every few minutes the group could hear a choked back sob. They slowly moved over to Lakota, not wanting to scare her acquaintance. 

"Lakota," spoke up Aria, "Why are we here? What happened? Who is this?"

Lakota turned to her sister and friends and in a slightly shaky voice she spoke, "Amadeus is in the hospital. Something happened this morning. This is her roommate and friend, Avon. She's the one who called me this morning. She wanted to inform us of Amadeus's condition."

Hayden and Aria looked at each other worried, more for themselves than for their sister. They didn't have the money to pay for a gravestone or a plot for a grave. Their friends looked confused, clearly, they had never heard of this "Amadeus", but they were about to meet her soon. Lakota turned to the eight people, but taking a deep breath and sighing it out. 

"Amadeus is our youngest sister. She moved out maybe two weeks before you guys arrived in town. We don't talk about her because we parted on bad terms," Lakota said, filling the octet in. They seemed to understand, nodding as a sign of acknowledgment. Just as she finished, her sister's name was called. 

"Amadeus Alarcón," called a doctor, who stood in the middle of the entrance to one of the many corridors. Avon stood up, rushing over to the doctor at lightning speed. 

"Is she okay, Doctor?" she questioned, worried for her friend, who needed her right now. "Can I see her?" 

The doctor simply nodded, before continuing, "She is going to be alright, she's just a little shaken up. She's been asking for an "Avon" if I remember correctly. Would that happen to be you?"

Avon nodded faster than seemed humanly possible before turning to the sisters and their friends coming up behind her. 

"These are Amadeus's sisters and...friends," she decided on because it looked like the sisters didn't want to leave their friends alone. Might as well pass them off as Amadeus's friends. 

The doctor nodded, "Normally I'd say, only a few people at a time, but the more friends the better. She needs someone right now."

Avon smiled, happy she was so close to seeing her friend.

"Room 432," the doctor spoke motioning behind him with his head.

Avon nodded in thanks for fast walking off towards her friend's room. The sisters and co following close behind. Minutes later, Avon stood in front of her best friends room, debating whether she should go in yet. Lakota came up to stand next to her, opening the door.

"You should go in first," she whispered, "She wanted to see you after all."

Avon slowly nodded, moving into the room, getting a glimpse of her friend through a curtain that slightly blocked her view. 

"Avon," she could hear the quiet voice of her long-term friend. She sprinted forward, pushing past the curtain, launching herself at her. 

"I'm so sorry," she bawled into her friend's chest. Amadeus rubbed her back, telling her that it wasn't her fault. When Amadeus looked up from her hysterical friend, she was met with the faces of her three other sisters and eight strangers. 

She quirked an eyebrow, "Hello?" 

"Amadeus," Lakota started, "How are you?"

Amadeus simply shrugged, "I could be better."

Lakota smirked at her sister unaffected attitude, knowing that she was just putting up a wall. Aria and Hayden stood to the back with their octet of friends, who all studied the youngest sisters facial wounds. She was pretty beat up, they could only imagine the amount of pain she had been through today. 

"Amadeus," Aria spoke up, "Did you get in a fight again?" 

Amadeus looked at her for a second before slowly responding, "You could say that."

Then it was Hayden's turn and seeing as she disliked Amadeus went full batshit crazy, "AMADEUS, HOW MANY TIMES HAVE WE SAID THAT YOU CAN'T GET IN FIGHTS?! OF COURSE, YOU WOULD GO AND GET IN ONE ONLY TWO WEEKS AFTER YOU MOVE OUT, YOU IDIOT!"

Avon was having none of that, rubbing her tear stained cheeks. Her face had distorted into that of rage. 

"How dare you," she growled out, "Don't you even think about coming in this hospital room and spout your shit. Get the fuck out if you have a problem."

"You're the one who called us!" she shouted at her. 

"I wouldn't have if I knew you were such a bitch! I thought you'd at least care about your sister, but I guess everything she said was true! You are a selfish bitch. I can't believe I even thought of calling you. Get the fuck out. GET THE FUCK OUT!" she screamed, shoving Hayden out of the room and locking the door. The others looked at her in shock, Amadeus being the only one who didn't seem affected. Amadeus had seen all of Avon's sides, her good to her worst. This was nothing. 

With that two of the sisters and their friends were left in the room. Lakota cleared from her initial shock before the others, clearing her throat. 

She turned to the friends, before sighing, "We'll now's a good as time as any to introduce you."

Amadeus looked at her sisters and their friends.

"Amadeus," Lakota spoke, "these are our friends. You guys wanna go down the line?" She asked the octet. 

Ubbe nodded, being at right next to Aria, started, "My name is Ubbe."

Hvitserk stood next to him, "Hvitserk."

"Sigurd."

"Lagertha."

"Bjorn."

"Harald."

"Halfdan."

Ivar, again reluctant to share his name, grumbled before replying, "Ivar."

 


	8. Attempt #8 - Unforgotten Foe

**United States, Illinois 2017 AD**

**Date: October 23, 2017**

 

It had been over a month since Ivar and Amadeus had met. The moment that they got to talking, they had gotten along so well that Lakota and Aria pretty much forced him on her. They had had such a hard time talking to him, they were happy that they seemed to be getting along. Ivar had spent most of his time hanging around Amadeus, Avon, and Lander. 

During the, almost, four months that Ivar had been in this new world, he had finally been able to move his legs slightly and only a few weeks ago the doctor had given him something that resembled crutches. 

 

It was still slightly difficult to move with them, but he was certainly getting the hang of it. Amadeus was happy for him and constantly encouraged him to keep going to physical therapy. He had informed her several times that he hated them touching him and he didn't want to go anymore. She always talked some sense into him and would tell him that in no time he'd be walking on his own if he kept going. He, trusting her word as best he could decide that he'd continue going after each bout of temptation to quit. 

Amadeus had developed a bad case of insomnia and spent most nights looking out her apartment window, waiting for when she needed to start getting ready for work. Ivar, having caught her in the midst of her staring session once before, knew of her insomnia and often would stay over and talk with her. He was nice to her, it was against his nature entirely, but he just couldn't seem to stop himself from treating her that way. He could see a part of himself in her, he knew what it was like to be looked down upon. Avon, still worried about her friend, asked Ivar to walk Deus to work every day. Ivar agreed, having nothing better to do. Ivar and Deus had taken to walking the long way to her work. They enjoyed their small, insignificant conversations and the few heated arguments. Ivar enjoyed the fact that he could be himself, even his rage-filled self, in front of her and she didn't seem to be scared.

 **12:15 am**   

This morning was like any other morning, the cool breeze blew past the both of them as they walk downed the quiet, empty street. They were lost in yet another conversation about the Viking gods and all their stories. Amadeus, not being bound to any faith, found it easy to listen to him talk about his gods without being overcome with anger or amusement. She did find some of their stories odd, but who was she to judge. If Ivar believed in them, then they must be pretty important and useful. He didn't seem like the type of person to be lured in by foolish stories about things that may or may not exist. 

Ivar had taken it upon himself to explain about the All-Father, Odin, today. The All-Father was a descendant of Ymir, the ancestor of all the gods and goddesses. He explained his children and who they were born from. He explained their stories and about their children. Eventually, they had made it to her work and he had to stop, but he didn't want to. He wanted to tell her all about his gods all the time, she was the only person in this world who seemed to accept her. She didn't treat him as a cripple or some kind of freak. She treated him like any other human being and for that, he was slightly grateful. 

**8:20 am**

Amadeus's shift had ended twenty minutes ago. She had been told to wait for Ivar every day after work, but it didn't seem like he was going to come. She knew she shouldn't head back on her own, especially since what happened the last time she did. But, today she was tired, for the first time in a long time, all she wanted to do was sleep. So, without her better judgment, she started to head home. The fear didn't fully kick in until she was nearing the entrance of the alleyway she had been dragged in a little over a month. Even if it had been a month, a month was not long enough to heal. A lifetime didn't seem a sufficient amount of time to heal. 

She could hear them, she could see them. Before she knew it, she was on the ground. The panic attack had started and she couldn't stop. Why had she decided to walk home alone? It was such a stupid idea and she knew it. She was hyperventilating, she couldn't control anything. It felt like her whole life was falling apart. For nineteen long years, she had been fighting to be free of her demons of the past. She had finally found peace when she moved in with Avon, but now it was all shattering again. Secretly, in the back of her mind, she always knew that all good things must come to an end. She just didn't think it would be this soon.

T_T

Ivar didn't mean to not pick Amadeus up from work. He had been preoccupied with his brothers, they had come to get him soon after he got back to Amadeus's apartment. They said that everyone needed to work on making weapons and building fortifications. Ivar knew he couldn't just turn his back on that just for one measly girl so he left. By the time it comes to pick Amadeus up, he was so immersed in his work that he didn't even notice the time. His brothers knew nothing of the arrangement, they didn't tell him that he needed to leave.

**6:30 pm**

The sun was starting to set, Ivar had finally finished more than enough weapons to keep themselves heavily protected. The fortifications, in the backyard of the sister's house, were close to being finished.When Ivar finally finished and saw that it was starting to get dark, he realized that he forgot to pick up Amadeus from work. With an enormous amount of adrenaline, he rose from his seat, grabbing his crutches and rushed to the door, as fast as he could. His siblings were confused why he was in such a rush, but let it be. 

He forced Aria to drive him to Amadeus's apartment. Once he got there, he practically jumped out of the car, stumbling up the stairs to her apartment door. When he got there, he knocked, waiting for the door to be opened. Minutes later, Lander stood in the doorway, looking down at the smaller male. 

"Ivar," Lander spoke, surprising Ivar, "Where have you been? Amadeus has been worried." 

Ivar stared at him for a few minutes, confused as to why the usually silent Lander was talking to him. Especially about Amadeus, his girlfriends best friend. 

"That's none of your business," he growled out, his anger taking over. How dare this man, he barely knew, question him.

Lander looked at him, his blue-green eyes glaring into Ivar before he shrugged. He didn't care so much as to pry into Ivar's life. Avon had just requested he ask. After she had found Amadeus in a state of shock near an alley by her work, she had taken the day off and brought her home. She was worried about Amadeus, she knew that it wouldn't be easy to heal these wounds. But, she still hoped her friend could hold strong. She didn't want her to revert back to the same person she was less than a year ago. Avon had finally gotten her to stop trying to kill herself. She didn't want all that hard work to go to waste. She was now trying to stop the drug abuse, but this would only make her want to use more. 

Avon knew that Amadeus's control was wearing thin and in no time, she would be out with her druggie friend doing God knows what. All she knew for sure is that whatever drug Amadeus could get her hands on would be gone before even she comprehended it. Avon didn't know if she could go back to dealing with a high Amadeus. Every time she came back high off her ass, she caused Avon so much trouble. Avon didn't mind helping her friend at first, but after the fifteenth time, she started to get annoyed. She didn't understand why her friend was doing this to herself. She couldn't understand what Amadeus could've gone through to make her like this. Little did she know, that she couldn't imagine her suffering as a child, even if she wanted to. It was beyond any sane person's imagination. 

Amadeus had witnessed  ** _the Devil_**.


	9. Attempt #9 - Veiled in Flesh

**United States, Illinois 2003 AD**

**Date: March 21, 2003**

 

The girl was only five, she was supposed to be innocent. She wasn't supposed to know of all the cruelty of this world. She wasn't supposed to know of the devastation that humans caused, but yet, here she was bathed in the evil of this world with no hope of redemption. 

The woman stood before her, veiled in flesh so pure. Not a blemish could be seen on her beautiful skin. Her bright green eyes shined as she looked down at her youngest daughter. 

"Amadeus," she spoke, a dark edge to her voice, "What have I told you about using your sister's coloring books?" 

Amadeus looked fearfully at her mother, "I'm sorry, momma, I didn't mean to. Ari told me I could use it." Her speech slightly slurred by her childish voice. 

Her mother glared down at her, clearly having it out for the child. Aria was the woman's favorite because "she was an angel". Amadeus was the result of a drunken night with her spiteful husband. Her husband, having found out that she was pregnant, was upset and ever since she was born, he treated Amadeus differently. Amadeus's mother, Abstinence Velique, was anything but pure. She had had more affairs than stars in the sky and she had had more abortions than thought possible. Her husband wasn't much different from her. Though he treated each his preplanned children with love, he was still a corrupt human.  

Jäkel Alcarón was the name of her father. He was a proud man who stood tall at a whopping 6' 5". He was born into a poor family, his mother was a Swedish woman who had run away from her family at a young age. His father was a Spaniard who dabbled in the slave trade. His father was nefarious, for lack of a better term. He only cared about himself and felt no guilt about taking away innocent peoples lives. He felt no remorse because he couldn't comprehend the feeling. 

The Alcarón family had been cursed and his father was one of the many generations that carried evidence of that curse. He, himself, carried the same evidence and two of his children did after him. Amadeus happened to be the second of those children. Though the curse may have looked beautiful on the outside, it was fatal to the owner. They had been cursed with an eye whose beauty defiled it. Unfortunately, for any person who was born with this eye would live with the full use of it until they were about ten years and then suddenly, one day they'd awake with a lack of sight in one eye. 

Amadeus was different though, it was almost as if the curse could already feel her torment and decided to spare her this at least. From birth, Amadeus hadn't had sight in that eye. She didn't have to grow with the use of it and then suddenly be thrown into the water and drown. You may think something along the lines of "they only lose sight in one eye, it shouldn't be that bad". Even the loss of sight in one eye can change a person's life. You've grown to depend on both your eyes to guide you through life, but suddenly one of those precious vessels is taken from you. You had no time to prepare, no time to find a way to deal with it. It's as if the ground was pulled out from underneath you and now you were falling.  

 

Her father hated her for that. He had to grow with the use of his and lose it. He didn't understand why the same wasn't going to happen to her. He hated that she wasn't going to feel his pain. He hated that she was being protected from this damned curse. He hated her. 

When she grew older, she grew knowing the callousness of people and this world. She grew thinking that the man she was supposed to call her father, was a demon. He was the abused who became the abuser. He felt no culpability in what he was doing. With every disparage, she became more and more unfeeling to the cold, harsh world.  **Abuse was all she knew.**

With every insult she heard from her mother, she become a little more dead inside. By the time she was five, all she knew was fear. All she had to know her entire life was anger and resentment. The only logical response to that was fear, in her eyes. She wanted to be free. She wanted to have a family like the ones she saw walk past her house. She wanted a family like the ones she saw through the window. 

Why couldn't her family be like that? Why wasn't she good enough? Why didn't she deserve to be loved?

 **WHY AM I NEVER GOOD ENOUGH?!**  

**WHY CAN'T I BE LOVED LIKE THAT?!**

**WHY CAN'T MY MOTHER LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT?!**

**WHY DOES MY FATHER HATE ME?!**

**WHY AM I ALL ALONE?!**

**WHY DOESN'T ANYBODY CARE?!**

**SOMEBODY, PLEASE SAVE ME!!!!**

**_PLEASE!!!!_ **

Her mind always seemed to be screaming at her. She felt worthless, she wondered if anyone could ever love her. By the time she was sixteen, she had given up all hope of anyone ever caring. She knew they saw the bruises, she knew they saw her red eyes, raw from crying herself to sleep again. 

When she met Avon it was if a bright light had entered her dark world. It was as if an angel of God stood before her. She wondered if she would really stick around, even if she knew of all the monsters she held within her. 

She wondered if she'd stay if she knew about her father,  ** _the Devil_**. 

Amadeus had kept it a secret so long, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to tell even Avon when the time came. At five, she wouldn't have even imagined the possibility of being able to do so. Even at nineteen, fourteen years later, she still couldn't imagine it. She could only hope that Avon would still love her when she found out. She could only hope that she could love even the  ** _defiled_   _Amadeus_**.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pronunciations:   
> Velique - (Vel-eek)   
>  Jäkel - (Jack-el)


	10. Attempt #10 - Alone Again

**The United States, Illinois 2017 AD**

**Date: November 10, 2017**

 

The day Ivar forgot to pick Amadeus was the last day he showed up. He had come to the realization that he had almost begun to trust her and he knew he couldn't do that. He knew he couldn't trust anyone in this world and that she was a mistake. It was a mistake talking to her and treating her nicely. She didn't deserve his kindness. 

Amadeus was lost, she didn't understand why no one could love her. Ivar had left her and Avon said she needed a break. Amadeus had told her a bit about her past and Avon couldn't seem to accept it. She thought her friend was lying to her. She went to stay with Lander until Amadeus could "get over herself and tell her the truth". 

Ivar spent most of his days working on fortifications and resharpening weapons. Amadeus spent her days in a drugged high. She didn't want to be let down from her cloud, she didn't want to feel anything. Lakota and Aria were starting to get worried, they didn't understand why the two were no longer talking. 

Amadeus was too prideful to go and talk to Ivar and Ivar was the same. Stubborn and prideful were their natures. Ivar had convinced himself that she wasn't worth the trouble and that she was just like everybody else. She was just pitying him because he was crippled. 

Truth be told, Amadeus was doing nothing of the sort. She could see the pain in his eyes, the same pain she knew her own eyes held. She wanted him to be happy, she wanted him to smile when she couldn't. She wanted to see him in a blissful state of happiness. 

Ivar wouldn't believe that even if she told him that. Ivar was being selfish, just because he thought that she was pitying him. He was leaving her to her mind and her mind was dragging her into a black hole filled with endless agony. She could hear her mother's harsh realities. She could feel her father's endless beatings. She felt the sliver of light disappearing from her dark world. Now that Avon was gone, she had no reason to keep living. She wanted to die. 

She was relapsing back into the same habits she had as a teenager. She was almost twenty, she was legally an adult, but she couldn't seem to rise from the grave she had dug herself into as a teen. She wanted to change, she wanted to be better. She didn't know how to get better and there was no one there to guide her on the right path. 

Bram was helping her fall back into the hole. He supplied the drugs, he encouraged the attempted suicides. He wanted her dead just everyone, that's what she thought. She was slowly losing her mind, she didn't know what to do. Why had everyone left her? 

She was walking down a lonely road, she was going to rot away. Her limbs slowly returning to the dust they were made from. The dust would take to the air and cloud another person's vision if she was lucky. She hoped that someone would remember her when she's gone. As she had heard in years past, "people are only remembered after they're dead". 

The tears blurred her vision as she looked our her abused window. She wished she could grow wings and take to the sky. Maybe then she'd be free of this life, maybe she'd fly right into the sky and burn. She hoped that her body would burn to ash and float among the flames that seemed to cover the sun from a distance. Maybe then someone would care, maybe then they'd try to help her. 

_"Here I stand, feeling lost and so alone._

_Take my hand; don't desert me now,_

_Please don't hurt me now."_

_\- Tom Springfield -_

 

The Seekers song, Walk with me, seemed to play in her head. Though, the lyrics weren't exactly equivalent to her situation, she still felt those two sentences spoke to her. She remembered her childhood summers spent in her aunt's house. She could still remember her aunt's gleeful smile as she worked around the kitchen playing old songs that she had heard as a child and some newer ones she had heard in her twenties. From The Seekers to Local H, her aunt listened to anything she could get her hands on. She would stand in the kitchen, swaying her hips to the rhythm as she made breakfast for her and Amadeus. 

Her aunt was the kindest person you would ever meet. She was beautiful with long brunette locks and bright blue eyes. Her plump pink lips always in a smile, showing off her perfectly aligned teeth. Her skin was just the right amount of tan and freckles littered her slightly pink cheeks. She was the description of beauty, she was what all girls aimed to be. 

Her eyes always seemed to hold a twinkle as they loving looked at her niece. Amadeus always felt loved in her presence. She didn't yell at her or treat her differently, she loved her when her own parents couldn't. Her aunt saw the bruises, she saw the puffy red eyes, but even when she tried to stop it, she couldn't. Her brother was a terrifying man and wasn't against hurting his sister. 

Amadeus didn't want anything to happen to her aunt. She'd stop in front of her door, put on a smile, and knock. When her aunt would ask where she'd got that bruise or this cut, Amadeus would always muster up her best smile and reply with the classic line, "I fell". Her aunt didn't believe her, but she didn't want to make Amadeus unhappy. She wanted this child to have at least one safe place to stay. 

Amadeus was happy during the three summer months she could spend with her aunt and the few short hours she could see her during the school year. Her aunt was always there, that was until she met someone.

His name was Sylas, he was a mechanic that her aunt had met when her car broke down. He seemed to be struck by her beauty the first time he met her and on a wimp, he asked for her number. After a few months, they had hit it off, dates were a reoccurring thing and with that Amadeus was no longer important. After Amadeus saw her aunt looking at this man with the same, if not more, amount of love that she'd shown Amadeus, she knew there was no point in continuing to bother her aunt with her presence. 

Amadeus was alone again and remembering her aunt wasn't helping. She wanted to see her again, she wanted to hug her and tell her how much she missed her. But, that was all in the past, her aunt hadn't tried to contact her since the wedding. Amadeus knew that she had taken out the trash and Amadeus was that trash. Bronwyn was finally free of this garbage she called a niece and she was happy.


	11. Attempt #11 - "I will become stronger!"

**United States, Illinois 2017 AD**

**Date: November 24, 2017**

 

Amadeus had been moping around for a good two weeks. She was starting to get annoyed with herself, she knew she couldn't continue to live her life like this. But, the depression was suffocating her and its unrelenting hands were not willing to let go of her throat just yet. Amadeus knew that she needed to pull on her big girl pants and man up (or in this case, woman up). 

She got out of the bed for the first time in a week and walked into the small bathroom located a few doors down from her room. She removed her over-sized t-shirt and looked at her grotesque body (at least that's how she saw it). She saw the faded and jagged scars that traced her lightly tanned skin. 

Why had she been allowed to live? She didn't understand, everyday in her youth, she feared for her life. She feared that she wouldn't make it to the next day, she had survived through so much, that was plainly evident. Yet, here she was bathing in her selfish depression and feeling sorry for herself over such a small thing. She was pathetic, she knew that, as she looked in the mirror, she knew that she needed to change. 

 **She was going to change.**   **She was going to become stronger.**

She pulled off the rest of her clothes, taking a needed shower and got dressed. After pulling on a jacket and shoving her feet in some shoes, she ran out the door, grabbing her keys and wallet along the way. She locked the creaky door, practically sprinting down the three sets of staircases and out the front door of the apartment complex. 

She ran until she was wheezing from lack of oxygen and standing in front of Lander's large mansion. Amadeus sucked in as much air as possible, coughing slightly, before hitting the button connected to a speaker and camera type thing. The tall black gates looming over her as if saying, "KEEP OUT! AVON DOESN'T WANT TO SEE YOU!" Even with that resting on her mind, she still pressed the buzzer, waiting for someones voice to come through the speaker.

A few moments passed before a gruff voice responded, "Can I help you, ma'am?" It asked, clearly annoyed that someone had disturbed him.

"I came here wanting to see Avon," Amadeus responded back, still slightly out of breathing. 

The man was surprised by her answer, he knew there was only one person that Miss Avon wanted to see. That was "Amadeus".

"What is your name?" he asked, curiously.

"Amadeus," she responded, waiting for him to either let her in or turn her away. Silence followed for several long minutes before the same voice responded.

"Come in. Someone will be waiting by the front door for you. Please show your ID to them and then they will take you to see Miss Avon."

With a curt nod of thanks, Amadeus sped through the slowly opening, automatic doors. When she made it to the front door, there stood a buff man who looked as if he was security. She walked up to him, pulling out her wallet, to get her drivers license. 

"Amadeus?" the man asked, cautiously. He looked her up and down, surprised that this girl was the same person that Miss Avon had so fondly spoke of during her stay here. 

When Avon had first arrived at the mansion, she had barely talked for two days. After one of the maids, Johanna, had gotten her to talk to her, Avon couldn't stop gushing about Amadeus. She explained about how Amadeus had finally opened up to her about her past and she had freaked out and left them in the apartment, accusing her of lying. She explained that she felt so bad, but she wanted to give Amadeus some needed space. 

Unfortunately, Johanna wasn't the only one in the room and the other maids weren't against gossiping. That maid leads everyone, but Johanna, of course, to believe that Avon was cheating on Master Lander with someone called Amadeus. It was a manly name and therefore made the story all the more believable. 

To this security guard, who had heard the gossip, this was almost unbelievable. But, her license read clearly,  _Amadeus Nora Alarcón._ She was the Amadeus that Avon had been gushing about and she wasn't her lover, only her friend.

The guard lead Amadeus into the living room, which was more like a large crater encased in four walls and a balcony surrounding the upper half of the room. Amadeus was beyond amazed, she had ever seen, let alone been in a, mansion before. She was told to wait there and that Miss Avon would be with her shortly. 

Amadeus nervously played with the cuffs of her hoodie as she waited. The anxiety was eating her alive, she was starting to regret leaving the apartment. Before she could get up, she was tackled in a side hug by none other than Avon. 

"Amadeus," Avon spoke, a sad smile taking over her face as she recalled their last conversation. She pulled back, looking at her broken friend. "I'm sorry about everything I said. I should've li-"

She was cut off by Amadeus, "It's all in the past." She smiled, reassuringly. 

Avon was surprised, to say the least, but was happy that she was forgiven. After a small conversation about how the last two weeks had been, the topic Amadeus has been dreading was brought up. 

**Ivar.**

Avon wanted to know if she'd spoken to him recently, she told her that Lakota had called a few times in the passed weeks. She relayed that said female was becoming increasingly worried about her safety around Ivar. She had told Avon that he was becoming easily angered all the time, even more so than his brothers had said was normal. She explained that his company was even starting to get worried. An angry Ivar was never a good Ivar to keep around for long. They knew if this kept up someone was going to get hurt, of course, they didn't voice that to the three sisters. 

After hearing this, Amadeus become worried too, even if Ivar had abandoned her, she still cared for him. Without a second thought, she said a hurried goodbye to Avon and ran into the, now, rainy weather. She ran down the streets, all the way to her childhood home, which happened to be Hayden's. 

When she made it there, she was soaked to the bone. She shivered continuously and sneezed a few times as she made her way to the door. She rang the doorbell and moments later the door was opened by a shocked, but relieved Ubbe. He hadn't expected her to show up here, but he was happy she did. Ivar being crankier than usual was not pleasing and he hoped that she could knock him out of this childish faze. 

Ubbe knew that he becomes more agitated after that day he practically fast walked out of the house. He later found out, from Aria, that she had taken him to see Amadeus. Ubbe wasn't an idiot, he could put two and two together, he knew that she was the reason for his attitude. Dare he admit it, he was pretty sure Ivar liked her more than he was letting on.

He ushered her into the house, closing the door behind them. Amadeus took off her soaked shoes and jacket, walking into the living room, behind Ubbe. In the living room, there sat all of the Ragnarsson's except Ivar, Harald, Halfdan, and two of the sisters (excluded Hayden). Aria looked over, astonished that Amadeus stood beside Ubbe. 

"Amadeus," Aria spoke, getting up, "What are you doing here? Is everything okay?"

Amadeus nodded, looking down at her shorter sister, "I wanted to talk to Ivar, if at all possible."

Aria looked back at Lakota, who seemed just as dumbfounded as her to see the same sister who had sworn never to enter this house again, stood in it. Lakota nodded to the younger, motioning for her to take her to his room, which happened to be her old room. Aria swallowed, scared of what might happen if she knocked on his door, let alone open it. 

Aria nodded, sweating slightly for fear for her own life. She turned to Amadeus, who stared at her curiously. 

"Come on, Amadeus, I'll take you to him," she mumbled, a slight trace of panic in her voice. 

Amadeus stared at her for a few moments before speaking, "Whose room is he in?"

"Your ... Your old one," she sputtered out. Amadeus nodded in thanks before turning to walk down the hallway to her old room. 

Within minutes, she stood before her old door, though it seemed more damaged than before. She hesitated at first, not sure if he even wanted to see her, finally deciding to knock after a small debate with herself.

The knock resounded through the empty hallway and Ivar's room. Amadeus waited for an answer, but none seem to come. She knocked again, still no answer. She was starting to get nervous, what if something had happened. Is he okay?

She knocked again, even louder this time. This one happened to awake Ivar from his trace.

With a growl, he yelled out, "Go away!" 

Amadeus didn't leave, in fact, she knocked again. Ivar was beyond annoyed at this point, he got out of the bed, grabbing his crutches and an ax, making his way to the door. He slammed the door open, forcing the person to the ground, holding the ax to their neck. When he finally realized who the person was, his eyes widened, but he didn't remove the blade from her neck. 

"Ivar," she spoke, smiling at him, "It's nice to see you're still using the crutches. I hope that means you're still going to physical therapy."

Ivar just stared at her. Why wasn't she scared? He had an ax to her neck, he could kill her in an instant. Amadeus just continued to smile at him, before it falters slightly. 

"Ivar," she spoke softly, "I'm sorry if I did something that hurt or offended you in any way."

Ivar looked her over, studying her expression. Before shaking his head, no. She hadn't done anything, it was all him. Ivar had began to realize that she was shivering and her clothes were wet. So after a few more minutes of lying in that position, Ivar pushed himself up, with the help of the wall and his crutches and reentered the room. Amadeus followed after him, closing the door behind them, not wanting to be disturbed by anyone. 

Ivar sat down on the bed, pulling his legs on it, he laid back looking at the ceiling again.  Amadeus walked over to the open side of the bed, unsure if she should lay down too, considering her clothes were still soaked. 

"Woman," Ivar spoke, somewhat harshly, "lay down." He ordered, patting the spot next to him.

Amadeus quirked her eyebrow at him, eventually coming to lay down next to him. When she was comfortable, she turned to look at Ivar to see him staring at the ceiling, arm behind his head. She turned her head, looking at the ceiling also. They sat in comfortable silence for awhile before Amadeus decided to break that silence. 

"How have you been, Ivar?" she asked, turning on her side to look at him. He moved his eyes from the ceiling, for a brief second, to look at her before turning them back.

"I've been fine," he mumbled out, studying the patterns in the ceiling.

She smiled, "That's good."

She turned away from Ivar, going to get off the bed, since it didn't seem like he wanted her there. She decided she'd come back another day, but before she could leave, she was pulled back on the bed. She gasped from shock, looking up to see Ivar looming over her.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked, eyes dark with an untamable rage. 

"You didn't seem to want me here. I was going home, I'll come back another day," she spoke, staring into his beautiful blue eyes. 

"No!" he growled out, climbing on top of her, to trap her, "You can't leave! You have to stay till I say you can leave!"

In that moment, she saw the child in him, she wanted to laugh but knew that wasn't smart. So instead she went with a small smile.

"If you wanted me to stay, all you had to do was ask," she spoke, looking at him.

He stared at her, making sure she wasn't planning on darting through the door at any second before slowly moving off of her. As if to ruin the semi-sweet moment, Amadeus sneezed and it wasn't a cute sneeze, it was loud, ugly and snotty. With the sneeze came a spur of coughing and before she knew it she had rolled on her side, coughing her guts up. Ivar worriedly moved closer to her, not knowing what to do.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked her, moving her on her back again so that he could see her face.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it," she responded with a weak smile, "I'll be better after some rest."

Ivar nodded, suddenly pulling her close to his side, resting her head on his chest.

"Sleep," he order, soothing running his hand through her hair. Within minutes she had fallen asleep in his arms.


	12. Attempt #12 - Sharing is Caring

**The United States, Illinois 2017 AD**

**Date: November 25, 2017**

 

Amadeus had gotten up early and taken a shower. She had taken two weeks off work, thinking that she'd be mopping in the bed all day. She had gone to work the first week of mopping and that hadn't gone on to well. She needed a vacation and she was glad she took it because now she could spend a week with Ivar and Avon, enjoying the company of her friends. 

Her throat was scratchy and she was pretty sure she had a fever, but she couldn't seem to care about it. She was happy, she had made up with the two people she cared about most. She rushed to pull on her shoes and jacket, grabbing her keys and wallet while running out of the apartment again. 

It 7:30 am and she knew that at least Aria would be up. As she walked to her sister's house, she was feeling slightly woozy, but she tried to ignore it. Knowing that she needed to make it to the house soon, she took off in a very wobbly sprint. Within ten minutes she was stood in front of the house. She shakily coughed as she made her way to the door, knocking.

Today, the door was opened by Hvitserk, whose mouth was full of food. He looked at her, instantly recognizing her as the girl from yesterday. He stepped aside, giving her a smile as she walked past him, into the house. She returned his with her own, walking into the kitchen, where she heard most of the commotion coming from. 

Once Aria saw here, she immediately stood up, walking over to embrace her younger sister in a hug. Amadeus was shocked, her sister never did this, she slowly hugged back. The hug was down as soon as it was initiated. Aria led Amadeus over to the table and sat her next to Ubbe, who smiled at her and greeted her with a simple "good morning", which she returned. In front of her sat Bjorn, who studied her, unsure if this girl was to be trusted. 

She stared back at him, not intimidated by her hard gaze. After a few moments of staring, she spoke.

"You're Bjorn, right?" she asked the older male. He continued to stare at her for a while longer, before giving her a curt nod. She nodded back, "Nice to meet you."

A steaming coffee mug was set in front of her by Lakota, who smiled at her. Amadeus thanked her sister for the coffee, taking a small sip of the scalding liquid. She really wanted to see Ivar, but it didn't seem like he was going to come anytime soon. After several long minutes of silence only filled with the sound of people chewing and sipping coffee, Amadeus rose from her seat, placing her empty coffee cup in the sink. She turned on her heels, heading to Ivar's room to see if he was awake. 

When she made it to his room, she found the door wide open with no one inside. She was confused, hadn't Aria told him that she was coming today? She looked around the room one more time before leaving. Walking out a little bummed, she slowly made her way back to the kitchen. As she walked Aria looked up at her, realization crossing her eyes for a second. 

"Deus, I forgot to tell you. Ivar's in the garage working on something," she stood up, pouring coffee into a cup, handing it to the younger, "Here, bring this to him."

Amadeus nodded, fast walking to the door leading to the garage. She opened it, to see the light on and the sound of hammering. She walked around Lakota's car, which happened to be blocking her vision. In front of her sat Ivar hammering away at a red-hot piece of metal. 

Amadeus decided it probably best to stay away from him when he had a dangerous weapon, considering what he did yesterday. Before she could even speak, a cough resonated from deep inside her chest, scaring the hell out of her and Ivar. Ivar turned quickly to get a look at who had coughed. There stood Amadeus, keeled over, coughing up a lung, with a steaming coffee cup in hand. 

"Deus," he spoke, having taken on the nickname within a week of knowing her, "What's wrong with you?" He came off gruff and angry, not meaning to. She raised a finger, asking for a second more to compose herself. 

"Sorry," she sputtered out, feeling another cough on its way, "I just have a cough is all."

Ivar looked her over, her paler than usual complexion, her skin tinted pink. The slight wheezing that could be heard from across the room and the undeniably stuffed nose. He grabbed his crutches from next to him, standing to his full height, making his way over to her. 

He hit her in the leg with one of his crutches, ushering her back into the house, "Come on. Let's go to my room." She followed behind him, woozily. 

They made to his room soon enough, Ivar shutting the door behind him. He hit her in the back with the end of one of the crutches, pushing her on the bed. Weak from her cold, she didn't fight back, only climbing under the covers in an attempt to get warm. Ivar sighed, making his way to the other side of the bed. He sat down, pulling his legs up, also getting under the covers. 

Instantly, Amadeus had cuddled into his side, which he didn't seem to mind at all. He simply pulled the sick girl closer, softly kissing her burning forehead. Amadeus smiled into his chest, hugging him closer to herself. Ivar, in a moment of fervor, put his hand under her chin. Pulling her face up to his and placed a soft kiss on her tempting lips.

"Night, Deus," he smirked seeing the indisputable blush on her already pink cheeks.

<3

To put it simply, the next morning they were both sick as dogs, but neither of them regretted the kiss. 

With a smile, Amadeus playfully told Ivar, after he made a remark about it being her fault he was sick, "Sharing is caring."


	13. Attempt #13 - The Path to Becoming Stronger

**The United States, Illinois 2017 AD**

**Date: December 30, 2017**

 

Once Amadeus and Ivar had recovered from their colds, they started to spend more time together. During that time, Amadeus had started to take self-defense classes in secret. She hoped that if she took them and became stronger that maybe she'd be able to defend herself against any attack in the future. Ivar, not knowing this, was becoming jealous thinking that she was spending time with someone else.

He constantly thought, " _I'm a cripple, of course, the kiss meant nothing. Of course, she'd find herself a "real" man_." He wanted Amadeus all to himself, though he constantly denied that to himself. He wasn't supposed to like anyone here, trust anyone here. He was supposed to be finding a way back home, back to where he was born. He wasn't supposed to be making friends and kissing girls. He felt like he was failing, he so badly wanted to go home and kill Eir, that wretched witch, but deep down in his heart, he also wanted to stay here with Amadeus. 

If the time came and he did find a way home. Would she come with him? Would she give up her life here to be with him? Would she be willing to go thousands of years into the past? He didn't think she'd be willing to, he knew that he should give up on her. He wasn't even a 'real man', he couldn't please her or give her children. All he would do was hurt her. He knew that he needed to stop this...thing they had before he couldn't leave her behind. 

But, he didn't want to. He wanted to trap her in her old room and pepper her with kisses. He wanted to feel her soft lips on his again. He wanted her to give up herself to him. He wanted her to bend to his will and love him. He wanted her to come willingly and show him the love he has always secretly craved. 

He was almost becoming obsessive and he was scared. Scared that he'd scare her away when she saw his temper. He was afraid that she'd leave him in his own dark world, alone again. He was afraid that if he lost himself in her that she'd eventually turn her back on him when she couldn't take his temper and childish behaviors. 

Amadeus was just as scared. She was scared that the kiss they shared meant nothing. She was scared that he would leave her to her mind again. She didn't know what she'd do if she was lost in her dark universe again. In the back of her mind, she could feel her demons hands reaching for her, ready to bring her back to the dark side. Ivar had saved her from them for a time and now being with him again, she felt safe. 

She didn't want to let him go, she wanted him to stay with her forever. Until he was drowning in her sickening aura. Until he had succumbed to her secret desires. She wanted him to take her with him when he went back to his homeland, but she also didn't want to leave Avon. She was confused and agitated, she loved them both, but she couldn't stay with both of them. 

-_-

Avon had moved back into the apartment, but after returning she wasn't sure if she wanted to live here anymore. She loved Amadeus, but she enjoyed her time with Lander so much. He had asked her to move in with him the day after Amadeus came to the house. She had asked for time, which he granted patiently, even if he wanted her to reject him if she was going to reject him or accept him if she was going to accept him. 

It ate Lander alive that he had been waiting for over a month, several dates later, and still, she hadn't given him an answer. His calm demeanor was shattering with each passing day, he needed her. He hoped that she'd accept and live with him. He loved to come home from a long day at work and walking into his house to be greeted by a smiling Avon. He enjoyed each kiss she placed on his lips and cheeks when he walked in the door. He enjoyed her lack of concerning regarding the prying eyes of his maids and guards as she kissed him. 

He enjoyed being able to go bed with her cuddled into his side. He was smitten, whipped, he couldn't stop himself from being lost in her beautiful bright blue eyes. She was like an angel, pure, sweet and beautiful. Every time he saw her, he fell more in love. He couldn't have been happier when she had first confessed her feelings. He was plagued with love for her long before her confession. 

Avon took a deep breath as she stared at her cell phone, he finger hovering over Lander's contact. She clicked it fast, in an attempt to not back out. Her heart was beating out of her chest with each passing moment. Suddenly, the phone was answered by a calm Lander. 

"Hello?" he called through the phone, secretly hoping that she was calling to accept his offer.

"Lander," Avon spoke, sounding serious, "I have an answer to your question."

"What's your answer?" he asked almost impatiently. 

"....Yes, I'll move in with you," she breathed out, tears coming out of her eyes for a reason unknown to her.

For the first time, Lander smiled at the office, his smile was wide and filled with happiness. 

"I'm so glad."

Avon smiled down at her lap, happy that Lander was happy. After a few more minutes of talking, she hung up, content with herself, but still slightly nervous. 

Now to tell Amadeus. 

_-_

Amadeus took the news relatively well, though she was slightly upset that her friend had talked to her beforehand. She helped Avon pack all her things together and load them into the moving truck. She even threatened Lander a little and made him promise to take care of her friend. All in all, Amadeus was happy for Avon and Lander, they seemed really happy together. Even her selfish side that didn't want Avon to leave, could see that and let them go. 

Amadeus now having the apartment to herself knew she needed to find a roommate, but she didn't know anybody who would, one, be willing to live with her and, two, have the money to pay half the rent. She searched for a little while till Aria and Lakota proposed an idea. An idea that Amadeus may or may not like. 


	14. Attempt #14 - Eternal Love?

**The United States, Illinois 2018 AD**

**Date: January 6, 2018**

 

Lakota and Aria's idea was to have Ivar move in with Amadeus. They had forced him to find a job, so in turn, he found one at a factory. He made screws, nails, other parts, he enjoyed the job enough. He did have times where his anger controlled his actions, but he luckily hadn't killed anyone yet. He brought in half the rent, which Amadeus was pretty happy about. He was mostly happy that he was able to spend so much time with Amadeus. Amadeus enjoyed the fact that Ivar was around more. They both worked early morning shifts, often times Amadeus would walk to his work and walk home with him.

They both enjoyed the time they spent together, learning more about the Viking gods and goddesses and the world as it was now. Ivar perfected his weapons and used some of the tools he used at work to make them sharper and stronger. He was still jealous of the fact that Amadeus would leave suddenly in the middle of the day without telling him. He wanted to ask her about it, but he couldn't bring himself to feel the pain of rejection just yet. So, in a sly attempt to find out where she goes every other afternoon, Ivar followed her. 

The day was cold, snow covered the streets from the previous days of snowfall. Amadeus pulled her winter coat tighter around herself. Her bag filled with workout clothes and shoes shifted at the movement. Ivar followed behind her, his crutches making only a slight amount of noise as he stayed just far enough behind her to not be suspicious. 

Ten minutes passed and Amadeus stood in front of  _Jerri's Iron Asylum_ (It sounds like a sex shop *facepalms* .....or BDSM here we come *wink wink*). She opened the door, stepping inside the small gym that was laid out like a dojo. She had started coming to Jerri's after she heard from one of her co-workers that he was a great teacher and it was inexpensive. Jerri was a middle age man who made it his life goal to teach weaker people the ways of self-defense, as he liked to tell Amadeus every time he saw her. Amadeus constantly resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the egotistical male. All in all, Jerri wasn't a bad person, he just was a little too prideful for his own good sometimes. 

Jerri found Amadeus to be a quick learner and enjoyed teaching her new ways to defend herself every time she came by. Jerri, the occasional ass he was, was a seemingly good teacher, that much she could give him credit for. She was in her third week of self-defense classes and was improving an becoming stronger with each lesson. She was proud of herself in her own way, she was happy that she was seeing progress, she didn't feel so helpless anymore. 

Ivar stood outside of the gym, reading the sign over. He had become quite good at reading English since Aria had started to teach him when she could. He was of superior intelligence and caught on quickly, surpassing his native speaking teacher in his newly found, large vocabulary. With each word he read off the sign, he became more and more agitated.  _What was this place? Why was she going in here?_

Ivar, unsure if he should go in, considering he had followed her here without her knowledge, stood outside the door for a little while. Without realizing it, a person had appeared behind him.

"Can I help you?" asked the curious voice of a female.

Ivar turned suddenly, wide-eyed.  _When had she snuck up on him? How long had she been there?_

Ivar debated with himself before answering the older female, "I was looking for Amadeus, I heard she'd be here." He cursed himself once the words left his mouth, he didn't want to see Amadeus, that would make this whole 'stalking' thing all the more awkward.

The woman's face suddenly broke forth in a crooked smile, "You know Amadeus?! No way! She's always so quiet, I would never have thought she had a boyfriend."

Ivar choked on his spit, "B-Boyfriend? N-no, we're just friends."

The woman continued to smile, moving her hand in a 'shoo' motion, "Oh, don't be so shy young man. You wouldn't be here if you didn't care about her. Oh, love, I remember when I was in love. The best times of my life." The lady continued to go one, her face breaking out into a soft blush as she babbled about her deceased husband and her three lovers after him. Ivar simply stared at the woman, contemplating murdering her or attempting to run away from her to get her to shut up.

After her thirty stories about her youth, she ushered him inside. She had him sit in the waiting area as she went to get him some coffee so he could have something to do while he waited for Amadeus. He awkwardly sat in the plastic chair, moving the styrofoam cup in his hands every few minutes to keep himself occupied, hoping to not let his thoughts lead him back to the images of Amadeus kissing another man or even touching a man beside himself. The soft eighties music played in the background, seeming to taunt him with their lyrics. 

   _"Owner of a lonely heart_

 _Owner of a lonely heart_  
_(Much better than a)_  
_Owner of a broken heart_  
_Owner of a lonely heart"_

_\- Owner of a Lonely Heart by Yes_

 

He scowled at his coffee as he thought of the possible rejecting that may ensue from his bout of jealousy. He looked up when he heard the soft voice he could recognize from anywhere, the voice he had memorized from the thousands of nights they sat awake talking. Amadeus voice, before he could revel in the smoothness of her voice, a male voice cut over her's. 

"Come back Tuesday, I have the whole day open, let me know when you can make. You still have my number right?" the male voice spoke, angering Ivar with each word.

Amadeus nodded, as she rounded the corner to the waiting area, "I'll text you the time I can come by."

Ivar rose from his seat, making his way to Amadeus, who now had her back turned to him. She hadn't noticed him yet, which Ivar was grateful for. Jerri reached his hand out laying it on Amadeus's shoulder, Ivar was enraged.  _She was his. All his. No one else was allowed to touch her, especially not a male._

Ivar glared at Jerri, who finally noticed Ivar. Ivar pulled Amadeus back into his chest, holding his arm around her waist, securely. Amadeus was surprised, but when she raised her head to see Ivar she relaxed in his hold, not caring as much that he had scared the living hell out of her. Jerri frowned at Ivar before looking back to Amadeus.

"Do you know him, Amadeus?" he asked, moving to pull her from his grasp.

"Yeah," Ivar spoke, scowling at his competition, "She knows me. I'm her  **boyfriend**."

Amadeus looked up at him, somewhat shocked by what he said.

"Is this true?" Jerri asked Amadeus as Ivar continued to glower at the male.

Amadeus took a couple seconds to comprehend what Ivar had said before responding, "Yeah, he is my boyfriend. We should probably be leaving, I'll text about our next lesson. Bye Jerri." She waved at the thirty-year-old man while she dragged a shocked Ivar out the door behind her.

She continued on her way home, eventually letting go of Ivar.

"D-Did you really mean what you said back there?" Ivar's vaguely shaky voice spoke into the silence that surrounded the two. 

Amadeus stopped, turning to look at him, "The boyfriend part?"

He nodded, pivoting with the help of his crutch to face her.

She looked him over for a second before looking towards the busy street next to them. It took her a few minutes before she finally looked back at him, "If you'd be willing to date me, then yes, what I said was true." She scratched the back of her neck, awkwardly, "I've actually liked you for a while now, but I've been too afraid that you'd never talk to me again if I told you. I was really happy that time you kissed me, but I wasn't sure if you actually felt anything towards me or if it was just that I happened to be there and you would've done that to any girl."

Ivar watched the girl in front of him, amazed by her confession. 

"Amadeus," he spoke seriously, scaring Amadeus, "will you be my-" Ivar bit the inside of his cheek as a light blush passed over his cold cheeks, "Will you be my girlfriend? I've also liked you for a long time. That kiss did mean something, I only want to kiss you."

Amadeus looked at him in awe of what he had said, she slowly nodded her head. A huge smile broke out over her features, Ivar soon following in her example. He leaned forward, wrapping an arm around Amadeus's torso, his hand stopping at her lower back as he pulled her into him. He sealed the confession and new relationship with a soft and yet passionate kiss. Both of them smiled all the way home. Their blushes still prominent all the way into the early hours of the morning when they wished each other a good day at work. They parted with one last kiss, the beginning of much more to come.


	15. Attempt #15 - Ivar's World

**The United States, Illinois 2018 AD**

**Date: January 17, 2018**

 

Ivar and Amadeus's relationship had been going well for the last several weeks. They spent a majority of their free time together and Amadeus changed gym's because Ivar didn't like the way Jerri looked at her. Amadeus started new self-defense classes with Opal, an ex-marine who has a passion for teaching others. Her gym had a less sexual name, which was a plus for Amadeus.  _Boost Defense_ was its name.

 

Opal is a great teacher and has greatly improved Amadeus's form and technique, which apparently Jerri had messed up. Jerri, as Opal put it, "was teaching you shit techniques and probably was taught wrong himself because he's shit." As Amadeus later found out, Opal hates Jerri, which you would think would be pretty obvious considering she called him shit. Oh Amadeus, you oblivious child.

During the last weeks, Ivar had had a breakthrough, he had found a way home. He had met a man at work who handled people who had dealings with the supernatural and magic. He had told Ivar that they were "legit" and "really freaky". He said that he had seen them do some "weird shit". He offered to bring Ivar to meet them one day after work. Ivar hesitantly agreed and once he met them he was more than glad he agreed.

Two weeks later, he met said witches. The 'witches' had opened his eyes and had found a way for him to return to his time. They said that they would help him open the portal. They gave him a week to gather everyone and everything that he needed to return to his home. Ivar was giddy the whole way back to the apartment until he remembered his fears that ate him alive less than a month ago. 

_What would Amadeus say? They were dating now, things were different. He didn't know if he could leave her behind now. Would she want to come? Would she come back with him? How was he going to ask her? How would his village respond to a foreigner? Oh, he didn't care about them, he would kill anyone opposed to her. He would protect her. He hoped, wished, that Amadeus would say yes when he asked her._

Within minutes, Ivar stood in front of the apartment door, keys in hand. He wasn't sure how he was going to go about this. When he had first told her about his time travel experience, she was the only one who didn't laugh at him. She believed him, she didn't see him as a person who would lie about something like that.

Ivar opened the door, walking in. He was greeted with the smell of eggs and bacon. Amadeus peaked her head around the corner of the wall that blocked the view of the kitchen. She smiled widely at him.

"Welcome home, Ivar," she spoke, still smiling at her beloved. He moved forward, softly kissing her before responding with simple thanks. They ate shortly after and then moved to the couch to watch TV till they decided to go to bed. 

Ivar turned toward Amadeus halfway through the Law and Order rerun, "Amadeus, I need to talk to you about something important."

Amadeus turned the TV off, looking at him, scared of what he might have to say.

Ivar continued once he knew he had her attention, "My coworker, Millard, took me to see some witches today. They told me that they know a way to send me home. They gave me a week to gather everything and everyone I need to return with."

Amadeus's eyes welled up with tears, she didn't want Ivar to leave. 

"Don't cry," he spoke softly, resting his hands on her cheeks, rubbing his thumbs on them, softly. "Amadeus, will you come with me?"

Amadeus looked shocked for a few moments until she regained some composure.

"C-Can I really come with you?" she spoke, softly, not wanting to jinx herself out of anything. 

Ivar's smile widened, "Of course you can. Please, Deus, come with me. I want you to see my home, I want you to live with me."

Amadeus nodded, tears slowly falling from her eyes. Ivar's smile widened even more, if that was possible, as he brought her in for another kiss. He was so happy she was going to come. Now all he needed to do was quit his job, tell his brothers, gather everything, and meet with the witches once again to return home. 

**Date: January 24, 2018**

The day had arrived, Ivar had quit his job, he had told his brothers (they told the others), and he and Amadeus had gathered everything. Ivar was dressed in his original attire, glad to be rid of the restricting jeans. Amadeus had exchanged her usual jeans and T-shirt for some leather pants and a Viking style shirt, as Ivar had instructed her. He didn't want her to stand out any more than she already would with her half dyed, blue hair and different colored eyes.

 

He wanted her to at least dress like his people so they wouldn't suspect that she was a foreigner. He hoped, even if it didn't matter because he'd annihilate them, that his people would accept Amadeus. He hoped that she wouldn't be looked down upon like he was for so many years. He hoped things would be different.

Looking down at his legs, he sighed. Things were much different then what they were months ago. His legs had grown stronger with the physical therapy, he was at a point where he could walk without crutches, but only for short periods of time. He knew that if he was to stay here and continue that he would be able to walk all the time without crutches. 

He was scared that when he returned to his time that his legs would go back to the way they were. He wanted them to stay strong, he had worked so hard to get to this point. He didn't want to revert back to the same person he had been.

Minutes passed in the silent, anxiety-filled car ride and they had arrived at the witches house. Aria sat in the front seat with Lakota, both looking worried for their sister. They looked at the rented house in front of them, wondering what kind of people these 'witches' were.

Ivar moved to get out of the car first, Amadeus following behind him. He knew that he couldn't bring the crutches with him because they were too futuristic. He left them in Aria's caravan and walked with Amadeus's hand in his into the house. His brothers watched in amazement, they would never have thought that this would be possible.

Once inside they were greeted by the sorceresses, the smell of herbal scents filled the air. Ivar and the other Vikings looked around, they saw many different types of dried plants and powders. In the middle of the room, a circle had been painted in blood. It was the same circle Eir had used, not that the brothers knew that.

The witches motioned them forward, having them all stand in the middle of the circle. They started to chant in an ancient language, a hole forming in the circle. The same black hole that brought them there. Suddenly, they all fell into the whole, the tunnel dragging them back to their time. Amadeus held tighter onto Ivars hand, confused as to what was happening.

As if being pucked out of a giant, the group shot out of the hole and onto the ground, where a similar circle from the one in the witches house lay. They looked around, they knew this forest, this was hallowed ground.

They were back in Kattegat. They were home.


	16. Attempt #16 - Shouldn't Have Come

**Norway 818 AD**

 

**Three Months Later**

  The group had formed an army of the villagers (as most of their loyalties still stood with them) and had tried to strip Eir of her crown. They had succeeded in exiling her from Kattegat, but they knew that she would be back. Lagertha took the throne once again, much to Ivar's vexation, his other brothers were split between being angry or accepting the fact that she was the new leader. 

Over the month that had passed since Lagertha's reinstallment to the throne, Ivar and Amadeus had moved into Ivar's small home. She had helped Ivar in this plan to take back Kattegat, though his brothers were trying to focus him on the campaign of revenge for their father. Ivar, during the day, would talk with them about what they were going to do about King Aelle and Ecbert. At night, he would come back to his shared hut and talk to Amadeus about his mother's revenge. Amadeus was glad to help, it distracted her from sleeping, which only brought her the nightmares of her defilement. The nightmares never seemed to stop, her thoughts were taken over by the images during the day. Everywhere she turned, she saw their faces, she didn't know what to do. 

In order to distract herself while Ivar was gone during the day, she had started training to be a shieldmaiden. She worked twice, if not tenfold, times as more than any of the other shieldmaidens. She never allowed herself a break because she knew what would fill her mind. She would train until the sun went down, even if none of the other shieldmaiden's wanted to train, she still did. 

That was one of the reason's Lagertha feared her, she knew that she was loyal to Ivar and wouldn't betray him, no matter the price. She feared that Amadeus would become an unstoppable weapon that even the gods and goddesses couldn't control. Sometimes, Lagertha would stand outside and watch over the female warriors. She would focus her attention on Amadeus and see how far her progress was, it seemed every day she became twice as strong as the day before. She was a quick learner and was an obedient listener, she listened to anything the others told her that may be of value in a fight. 

Though the other warriors were cautious around her at first, they had seemed to warm up to her after a while. They saw her kind, hardworking nature and admired her for her. They still didn't trust her fully because she was a foreigner. 

Ivar had yet to see her fight, in fact, he had no idea what she did during the day. He left in the early hours of the morning, after a short nap and most of the time she was already gone. He would wake up worried and he'd worried throughout the whole day until he came home at night and there she was with food for her and his plan set out. She'd smile at him, ask how his day was and get him as much ale and food as he wanted. He'd never see her eat, but he always assumed that she ate before he came home.

How wrong he was. She hadn't eaten for over two months, she drank water and that was about it. She would see her reflection in the shields and swords that she trained with and think of just how disgusting she was. She felt that she didn't deserve to eat, she was filthy, disgusting. She was fat, Ivar must hate her even more everytime he looks at her. She couldn't see the bones that started to become more prominent with eat day she starved herself. She couldn't see the muscles that began to form with each new technique performed. 

Ivar, to busy with his revenge, didn't seem to notice or care. They were becoming even more distant to one another, Amadeus started regretting coming with Ivar. The rose-colored glasses seemed to come off and she began the true extent of her own stupidity. She didn't belong in her own time and she definitely didn't belong in Ivar's time. 

With every second that dwindled on, she wasn't sure what to do. The suicidal thoughts were starting to eat away at her. 

**"You deserve to die.**

**You're ugly.**

**No one will ever love you.**

**Look at Ivar, he doesn't care.**

**He lied to you.**

**He wants you to die.**

**He wants to kill yourself.**

**Pick up the sword, use the sword.**

**It's so close, so easy.**

**It'll all be over soon.**

**What's stopping you?**

**You think people will care?!", the voice would laugh.**

**"NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOU, YOU USELESS, UGLY, DIRTY, DISGUSTING WHORE!"**

Amadeus didn't know how to stop the voice, but in another sense, she didn't want it to stop. She wanted it to egg her on, push her to the edge where she'd finally find a spine and do it. She wanted the pain to end, she wanted to be free of this life filled with misery. She was so close to the edge, she almost standing right next to it, she was looking down into the ravine she called a life, trying to find anything to keep her going. Trying to find anything to make her step away from the edge.

Nothing was there, nothing wanted her to stay, she could hear Ivar's voice taunting her. He was telling her to jump, tempting her, he wanted her dead just like everyone else. She couldn't say no to Ivar, Ivar was her everything, even if he was slipping away. She looked down into the ravine one last time, still seeing nothing, she jumped.


	17. Attempt #17 - Odin, Please!

**Norway 818 AD**

 

Floki and Helga had shown a type of kindness that Amadeus had never experienced, the love of a parent. Helga was sweet and treated Amadeus like her own daughter, she was like Angrboda reborn. She was so happy to have a daughter again and Floki, though skeptical at first, eventually accepted her and was just as happy as Helga.

To find that their 'daughter' had killed herself was something that even a biological parent wouldn't be able to fathom or go through without some sort of trauma inflicted. Helga was beyond shaken up when Ivar entered her and Floki's home with Amadeus's dead, bloodied body hanging in his arms. Floki was quick to find a place to put her and grab what might be needed to heal her.

In the back of Floki's mind, he knew that she was gone and that nothing he or Helga could do would bring her back. Even with that, the irrational, the loving father side, wanted her to still be alive. He was wishing to see her take another breath, one which he could grab ahold of and pull until he brought her back. Ivar sat, watching his father figure of so many years crumble.

Floki turned to Ivar with teary eyes, "I-I'm sorry, Ivar, there's nothing I can do."

When Ivar thought the tears were gone, more seemed to fall as he looked at her and then back to Floki.

"What am I supposed to do then, Floki?" Ivar questioned, the aching feeling in his chest growing with each second she was gone.

"Pray," Floki responded, wiping the tear that ran down his cheek away, "Pray to the gods and ask them to bring her back."

Ivar choked up, unsure if that would really work, but at this point, he was willing to try anything to bring back his love. He walked to his chariot, feeling empty and alone. As he rode around the forest, he prayed and screamed to Odin to please bring her back. With each pray that left his quivering lips, he lost hope that he would ever see her again. That he would ever be able to look into her mismatched eyes or kiss her soft pink lips.

Even if he felt hopeless and thought his prayers went unanswered, he was wrong. The gods had planned this, that Ivar would meet Amadeus. They had a plan for both of them, but if one of them was dead, it wouldn't work as they wished. Odin knew that he needed to fix this and so he did.


	18. Attempt #18 - Eir's Revenge

**Norway 818 AD**

 

Eir angerly looked down at Kattegat from the hill she stood on. She was going to regain her command, she was going to be the queen again. She had been queen for two years and she wasn't about to let those years go to waste. (A/N: There is a time difference between dimensions in this story. Two years in Eir's time is only a few months in Amadeus's time.) 

She closed her eyes calming down her raging mind. She needed to be calm if she wanted to win this fight. She knew she couldn't underestimate Ivar and his brothers. They had managed to survive in an unknown world and make it back to Kattegat alive. This new girl they brought with them was also a danger, Eir could sense something powerful about her. She wasn't sure what it was yet, but she knew she'd find out soon enough, with the battle coming.

She stood in that spot for a few more minutes until she decided that she needed to go back to camp and gather the rest of her supplies. She was going to have to fight off an entire village by her lonesome. She knew that even with her abilities she'd still have to have someone guard her back and so she got work on resurrecting the many dead villagers that lived during her youth.

She was going to resurrect an army that would follow her every command. Eir, blessed by the gods, was much different than 'normal' völvas. She was much more powerful and was more than a seer. She had magical abilities that surpassed any other witch. She, with a single chant, could resurrect the dead, as she was about to demonstrate now. 

She, already in a high state from the herb paste rubbed on her face, chanted incoherent words to the sky as she danced around the graves of her past allies. She continued even as the ground began to shake and the arms began to shoot from the ground. As the skeletons began to dig their ways out, she still danced around them, not missing a beat. When the skin began to reform around their fleshless endoskeletons, she chanted louder and beat her feet harder on the ground. 

Soon enough all of the men and women were reborn, looking as real and alive as before they died. But, they had no souls and so they were like puppets, a group of unstoppable puppets waiting for their mistresses command. Eir smiled happily, raising her hands to the sky as lightning began to shoot down and rain distorted her vision. The loud rumble of Thor's hammer surrounded her unbeatable army, it was as if Thor was giving them his blessing. 

She chanted loudly, looking at the sky. She hoped that Thor would bless her army and grant her victory so that she may once again rule Kattegat. Little did she know that the gods were not on her side this day. This toy that they had granted power for their own amusement they had began to outgrow. They no longer enjoyed her fanciful thinking and arrogant ways. She was becoming a nuisance, but because Odin had ordered that they let her live until this battle was over, Thor had stopped his lightning from killing her. Though he let it surround her, hoping to scare her, all it seemed to do was bring her more courage. Thor looked down at her in anger, she wouldn't win this battle. He'd make sure of that. 

A few miles away, Ivar and Amadeus were just waking up from a needed nap. Ivar ran his hands through his beloved's brown hair, the blue ends had faded drastically in the last few months and they were almost nonexistent. Amadeus hummed soothingly as she rested her head on his chest, rubbing soft circles on his bare abdomen. 

Since Amadeus had woke up from her coma, she and Ivar had been spending a majority of their time together. His brother's, having been told of what happened to Amadeus in as little detail as possible, were more than happy to continue on with the plan for their father's revenge. They had finished a month into Amadeus's coma and had planned that the next month they would leave. Ivar, not wanting to leave Amadeus, even if he wanted to avenge his father, decided to stay behind. Floki and Helga, not wanting to leave him and Amadeus stayed behind as well. 

His brothers were still in England so Ivar and Amadeus spent most of their days resting or training. They knew that Eir was bound to come back soon. Lagertha's move to make reinforcements was smart, but they were sure it wouldn't hold back Eir. 

-_-

Eir and her army had moved to surrounding Kattegat, she skimmed the streets, looking for every foe that might be able to take down her army. To her surprise and utter joy, she found that none of Ragnar's sons were present and it looked as if a majority of the boats were missing. How had she not seen or noticed that they had left? Either way, she was happy, one less nuisance to deal with. She was sure that she'd win this war and without much trouble. 

Without much thought, she had unleashed her army on the unsuspecting village. The puppet warriors took down soldier after soldier without breaking a sweat. The civilians were relatively easy to take care of, but when they made it to Lagertha's warriors, they began to have trouble. Even if they were the undead, they still were being slaughtered, again. One of her warriors figured out that lighting them on fire killed them. Because of this, the sky began to become full of firey arrows that rained down on their enemies. Eir's unstoppable army began to show that in fact it could be stopped.

Eir was furious that her army had been killed so easily, it had taken her so long to resurrect them and within minutes they were dead. She didn't understand why the gods weren't helping her, sending rain to stop her men from burning. After contemplating this for a little while and watching more of her army be slaughtered, she realized that the gods had deserted her and she was on her own now. It made no difference to her if the gods weren't going to help her, then she was going to have to do it herself. 

She raced down from the hill she stood upon, summoning the ground to swallow up her enemy. Some of Lagertha's warriors were sucked into the ground, the dirt filling their lungs, suffocating them. Eir laughed maniacally as they died, she was going to be victorious even if she had to kill everyone. You would think that that would defeat the purpose of having this war, but she didn't care. She was angry and she was going to take it out on them.

People were dropping like flies and Ivar and Amadeus were nowhere to be found. They watched from a distance, unsure if they should run in or form a quick plan. Amadeus voted quick plan may be more effective and Ivar was readily agreeing. After a few minutes of discussing a course of action that should be taken, they had come up with a plan. Now was a perfect time to kill two birds with one stone. They need to get rid of Eir, but they also wanted Lagertha out of the picture. What better way to get rid of Lagertha then to get Eir to kill her for them. It would be one less battle for them and also an incredible victory.

Ivar and Amadeus sat back watching the show as Eir took down the rest of Lagertha's warriors and was now face to face with none other than the queen herself. With a simple movement of her hand, Lagertha was thrown across the field and rolling along the ground, blood pouring from scratches on her head. Eir laughed heartily, continuing to use her abilities to beat Lagertha to death. It didn't take long before Lagertha was no longer making an effort to get up and continue to fight. Eir had knocked her out and from the large amounts of blood pouring from multiple open wounds, she wasn't bound to survive much longer. 

Eir looked around, looking for any other enemies, but she saw none. She thought she had defeated everyone. With a wide smile, she made her way back to the hall where her thrown sat waiting for her.


	19. Attempt #19 - King Ivar and Queen Amadeus

**Norway 818 AD**

 

Ivar and Amadeus watched Eir closely as she entered the hall, deciding that now was not the best time to attack. They need to surprise her, she was powerful, that much was clear by the amount of damage she had done. Amadeus looked at Ivar, silently questioning what they were going to do.

"We'll wait till night," Ivar spoke, still staring at the hall, "We have to catch her off guard our lives depend on it."

Amadeus nodded in agreement and stood up brushing herself off. 

"I'm going to find weapons," she spoke softly, turning to leave. Before Ivar could say anything she was gone. He sighed looking back to the hall, he knew that building like the back of his hand. He knew where they needed to enter and hide without being detected, he just wasn't sure of the full extent of his opponents powers yet. He had witnessed only a small portion of her fight and the majority of it was her beating Lagertha to death. He wasn't sure if she would be able to detect him and Amadeus when they were in the hall. He needed information, but he was unsure of how to obtain it. Everyone was dead or gravely injured, he was sure they wouldn't live much longer and he couldn't just waltz in their like nothing happened.

He finally decided that he'd just have to pray to the gods and hope that they protect the both of them.

Ivar could practically feel the soft furs that would be sat beneath him when he became king. He could smell the halls scent, ale mixed with the sweat of experienced fighters. He wanted to charge in and take Eir out right now, but he knew that he'd lose without a plan. That was the only thing holding him back.

Two hours passed and Amadeus had come back with a sack of swords, bows, arrows, and axes. Ivar took a couple of the weapons and relayed to Amadeus what he had come up with while she was gone. After that, they sat in silence and waited until dark came.

**6:00 pm**

The last remnants of the sun were slowly leaving the sky, Ivar looked towards a determined Amadeus. 

"Are you ready?" he asked, studying her expressions. She curtly nodded, her grip tightening on the ax in her hand. Ivar looked back towards the hall, standing up. "Let's go."

The closer they got to the hall the more nervous they became. What was going to happen? Did Eir already know they were there? Would they be able to defeat her? Ivar continued to pray to the gods unsure if he would be granted victory or not. He knew that he wasn't going to let Amadeus die again even if it cost him his own life.

Amadeus followed behind Ivar, making sure to look out for any enemies that may attack from behind. She trusted that Ivar knew what he was doing and that the All-Father would protect them. She knew from the moment she saw him when she was dead that he was looking out for Ivar and her. She knew that he'd help them if help was needed.

As they traveled deeper into the building they could hear Eir's voice. She seemed to be chanting something, it was almost as though she knew she was going to have to fight soon. That she knew that this fight was going to tougher than any she had faced so far.

Ivar and Amadeus shared a look before focusing their attention back towards where Eir's voice was coming from. Ivar motioned for Amadeus to enter from the other side of the room, trap her in. Amadeus did as ordered, looking towards Ivar from the other doorway she was crouched next to, waiting for his signal. Not before long he gave her the order to move in. She slowly entered the room, still squatting, her ax handle gripped tightly in her hand ready for an attack.

"Ivar," came the voice of none other than Eir, she was sat upon what was once Lagertha's throne. "I see you've brought a friend."

Eir turned her head, looking at where Amadeus was hiding. 

"What is your name, girl?" the witch asked, moving Ivar's suspended body into view. Ivar couldn't move, she had used the same power that she killed Lagertha with. There was no way Ivar was getting away from her especially since she was only using a tenth of her true power.

Amadeus, knowing that there was no point in hiding any longer, stood up, staring at her enemy.

"Amadeus," she responded, "and you are?"

Eir chuckled, finding the girls attitude to this whole charade amusing, "I am Eir, the Divine Völva."

"Nice to meet you," Amadeus responded politely, Eir reciprocated the mutual feelings with a nod of the head and slight gesture of the hand.

"The pleasure is all mine," she spoke, looking over the muscled shieldmaiden in front of her. 

Amadeus looked back at her, waiting for any sign that she may attack soon. None seemed to come it was as if Eir wanted her to make the first move.

"May I ask," Eir spoke into the uncomfortable silence, "how you came to be here? You are not Viking and you are definitely not from our time."

Amadeus continued to stare, debating on whether she should answer or not. She wasn't willing to risk looking to Ivar because Eir may attack her then. Ivar couldn't speak because Eir had used her magic to silence him. Amadeus was on her own and she was unsure of what to do. Eir wasn't attacking, but she was asking some potentially dangerous questions.

"I traveled through the black hole that you had once created," Amadeus spoke, tilting her head if they weren't going to fight than she was going to show the type of person she was on the inside. She was going to try to intimidate Eir. She knew that it might egg her on to fight or make her just laugh in her face. Either way, she wanted Eir to show some weakness and she knew crazy was the way to go. She knew she was crazy for trying to intimidate her and so she labeled this attempt for survival as 'crazy'. 

Eir stared at her, smiling, "So you know how they came to be in your time?"

Amadeus smiled wider, "I know about Aslaug. I know all about your revenge, Eir. I have been informed of everything."

 

Eir's eyes widened. No one knew what happened with Aslaug, no one knew why she did what she did. She closed her eyes, smiling. It didn't matter, it wasn't important anyway.

"The gods have deemed that your reasoning is unfit for the punishment you bestowed," Amadeus spoke, holding her ax up and pointing it towards Eir. "You are no longer fit to live."

Eir couldn't hold the laughter in any longer, "I am unfit to live? Then who is going to kill me? YOU?! YOU'RE A PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR A WARRIOR! You wouldn't make a minute in a fight with me."

Amadeus stared, "You wanna test that?"

 

Eir blinked and Amadeus was in front of her with her ax. Before Eir could stop her Amadeus had stuck the ax in her chest, dragging it out, blooding splattering on the floor and all over Amadeus and Eir's bodies. The sudden pain caused Eir to drop Ivar from her hold, he took this opportunity to gather himself and grab one of his knives, digging it in Eir's face.

 

Eir screamed, holding the place where a knife was now stuck.

"HOW DARE YOU!" she screamed, trying to keep the blood from pouring out of the wound. "I WILL KILL YOU! BOTH OF YOU, YOU WORTHLESS BRATS!"

Amadeus simply brought the ax down on her again, hitting her as much as possible in hopes of killing her quickly and winning the battle. Of course, nothing can be easy as Amadeus learned when she was thrown across the hall, hitting the wall. Ivar had on the other side of the room, groaning from the impact. Amadeus looked towards Eir to see her trying to take out the ax currently embedded in her chest and the knife stuck in her cheek.

After a while of struggling she managed to remove the ax and knife, throwing them to the floor. She was going to kill them, make them suffer. They were going to pay for what they'd just done. She stumbled towards them, chanting some incantation that would probably mortally wound them. She, overestimating herself, thought that she'd be able to kill them quickly. How wrong she was. The spells she used seemed to do nothing, each breath she took pumped out more blood. Suddenly she was on the ground and Ivar and Amadeus stood before her. They watched as her soul left the earth and her body became paler. They had won and they were unsure how. Those spells should have hurt them, killed them. It seemed that the gods were looking out for them after all.

Ivar walked to the throne, taking a seat where Ragnar once sat. He closed his eyes, sighing and gripped the armrests. Amadeus walked towards him, standing before him.

"Congratulations, Ivar, King of Kattegat," spoke Amadeus smiling at her beloved.

Ivar opened his eyes, looking up at her, "Sit," he ordered, pointing to where Eir sat moments ago, her blood still soaking the furs. Amadeus took a seat, looking at Ivar questioning his motives. 

Ivar continued to stare forward before whispering out, "Marry me."

Amadeus choked on her own spit, "W-What?"

Ivar turned his body towards her, grabbing her bloodied face in his hands, "Marry me, woman."

Amadeus looked back at him before attaching her lips to his. "If that's what you want, Ivar." 

Ivar smiled, "Good."


	20. Attempt #20 - Epilogue

**Norway 821 AD**

 

**Three years later**

Amadeus and Ivar had been married for a little over two years and they had been happy for the most part. Ivar was a good king, though his anger could control him at times. His brothers had come back to find that Lagertha was dead and Ivar and Amadeus were now ruling. To say they were angry would be an understatement. They had formed an army and planned to take the kingdom back, but Ivar and his rebuilt army had conquered. His brothers eventually fell in line and came to terms with the fact that their brother was king. Bjorn and Hvitserk decided to travel the Mediterranian and took a majority of the people with him. Ivar didn't seem to mind and so there weren't many quarrels over it. Ivar's other brothers had settled down and seemed to enjoy their lives as warriors. 

Since Ivar and Amadeus had gotten married they had become closer, more intimate. Ivar was scared at first after all his first attempt had ended in failure. Amadeus had managed to calm him down and told him to take his time and when he was ready they'd do it. It only took Ivar a few months before he could no longer resist the urge to bed his wife. It was also the fear that she may leave him for another man if he didn't satisfy her soon. Their first time was successful and from then on it seemed like every night was spent in pleasure. Even with that, it came as a surprise to Ivar when Amadeus came to him early that morning and told him she had news.

"I'm pregnant," were the words that left her mouth. Ivar was dumbstruck, he didn't think that he'd be able to impregnate her. After the initial shock, he was beyond happy and became fascinated with seeing her belly grow with each passing month. He was happy that it was his child inside her womb and not another mans. 

This morning was like many others, Amadeus laid on the bed her nightgown pulled up exposing her large belly as Ivar ran his hand along the stretched skin, smiling every time the baby kicked. He was like a child at Christmas, he was beyond giddy every time his child kicked, showing their father their forming power.

"He's getting stronger each day," Ivar spoke, resting his face on her protruding stomach, looking at his beautiful wife.

Amadeus smiled, running her hand through his hair, "Yes, they'll be just like their father."

Ivar chuckled, moving his head to kiss her stomach, softly speaking to his child, "You hear your mother? You will be strong, wise, and handsome just like your father." He grinned up at his wife who chuckled.

"Egotistical much?" she laughed, he just continued to grin, loving the sound of her laugh. Amadeus ran her hand over her stomach feeling the baby kick her hand.

Several hours passed before Ivar knew he had to get out of the bed and make sure everything was going well in Kattegat. He didn't want to leave his pregnant wife, but he knew someone would come drag him from the room soon. He knelt down kissing her stomach once more before standing up and pulling his clothes on. She pouted, not wanting him to leave.

 

"Ivar," she whined, making him chuckle and sit next to her on the bed.

"Yes, wife?"

"Can't you stay a little longer?" she questioned, taking his hand in hers.

"I'm sorry, my love, but I have to sort some business out today and I am already very late."

She pouted again before sighing, "If you have to leave then there is nothing I can do about it."

Ivar smiled down at her, moving some hair from her forward, leaning down to kiss her. 

"I'll be back soon, wife."

"I'll be waiting, husband."

With that Ivar left to attend to business and Amadeus was left with nothing to do. She decided that she should get up and get dressed. With much difficulty, she got out of the bed and pulled on a loose fitting dress. She left the room, wanting to take a short walk. She walked through the town, eventually determining that she was willing to walk through the woods to see Helga. She was heavily panting by the time she made it to Helga and Floki's. She rested on a stump by their house before getting up to knock on the door. She was met by a smiling Helga who offered some food and water.

What originally was supposed to be a small visit became a day-long visit and before Amadeus knew it it was the night. Helga offered to let her stay the night, but Amadeus knew that Ivar would be worried. Floki offered to walk her home which she accepted gratefully. 

A short time into their walk and Amadeus started to feel pain in her stomach. Within seconds of that, she could feel liquid pouring down her leg.

"Oh my gods," she cried out, falling onto the tree next to her. Floki stopped, staring at her in confusion and worried before realization passed over his face. 

"We need to get you back to Helga," Floki spoke, helping Amadeus walk back towards his hut. Once they got there Amadeus was groaning in pain. Floki quickly explained what was going on to Helga before running to get Ivar and some other midwives to help Amadeus with the delivery.

Helga had Amadeus lay on the bed, gathering everything needed for the delivery. It didn't take long before Amadeus was screaming in pain. She wasn't even pushing yet, the contractions were so bad. 

"WHERE'S IVAR?!" she screamed, the pain taking over. She needed Ivar to get through this, she couldn't do this on her own. Ivar, as if having heard her, from miles away, took off running to Floki's hut when he heard the news. 

Ivar slammed open the door to Floki's hut running towards Amadeus, he grabbed her hand, looking down at her. 

"I'm right here, Deus, I'm right here."

Amadeus calmed down slightly, but before she knew it she was screaming again. The midwives and Helga surrounding her, getting ready to tell her when to push.

"Push," one of the midwives said. Amadeus continued to push when the midwives said until she felt she couldn't anymore. She was screaming and crying the pain was tremendous. Ivar had to be held down by Floki so he didn't kill the midwives because they didn't seem to be helping with anything.

Helga looked up at her, "Amadeus, you need to push now. I know it hurts, but you need to push."

Amadeus nodding, pushing once more and not long after she heard the cry of a baby.

"It's a boy," spoke Helga as she wrapped him in a cloth, handing him to a sweaty, teary Amadeus.

Amadeus held her boy, looking to Ivar. 

"It's our baby," she spoke, tears running down her cheeks, "I just had a baby."

Ivar chuckled at his shocked wife, "Yes, love, you just had a beautiful baby boy."

"What are we going to call him?" she asked, looking back to the newborn blue-eyed boy.

"Riodhr," Ivar spoke, "Dwells in the clearing in the forest."

Amadeus smiled, "Riodhr."

**The End**


End file.
